5G new radio de-registration procedures

ABSTRACT

Apparatuses, systems, and methods for a wireless device to perform methods for de-registration of the wireless device from a first access type over a second access type. Methods also include procedures for maintaining state machines associated with both access types as well as procedures to determine a connection for re-transmitting a de-registration request and to avoid collisions between procedures associated with the first and second access types. Further, methods include an information element configured to indicate which access type has been de-registered.

PRIORITY DATA

This application claims benefit of priority to U.S. ProvisionalApplication Ser. No. 62/692,418, titled “5G New Radio De-RegistrationProcedures”, filed Jun. 29, 2018, which is hereby incorporated byreference in its entirety as though fully and completely set forthherein.

FIELD

The present application relates to wireless devices, and moreparticularly to apparatus, systems, and methods for de-registrationprocedures for a wireless device in a fifth generation (5G) New Radio(NR) network.

DESCRIPTION OF THE RELATED ART

Wireless communication systems are rapidly growing in usage. In recentyears, wireless devices such as smart phones and tablet computers havebecome increasingly sophisticated. In addition to supporting telephonecalls, many mobile devices now provide access to the internet, email,text messaging, and navigation using the global positioning system(GPS), and are capable of operating sophisticated applications thatutilize these functionalities.

Long Term Evolution (LTE) has become the technology of choice for themajority of wireless network operators worldwide, providing mobilebroadband data and high-speed Internet access to their subscriber base.LTE defines a number of downlink (DL) physical channels, categorized astransport or control channels, to carry information blocks received frommedia access control (MAC) and higher layers. LTE also defines a numberof physical layer channels for the uplink (UL).

For example, LTE defines a Physical Downlink Shared Channel (PDSCH) as aDL transport channel. The PDSCH is the main data-bearing channelallocated to users on a dynamic and opportunistic basis. The PDSCHcarries data in Transport Blocks (TB) corresponding to a MAC protocoldata unit (PDU), passed from the MAC layer to the physical (PHY) layeronce per Transmission Time Interval (TTI). The PDSCH is also used totransmit broadcast information such as System Information Blocks (SIB)and paging messages.

As another example, LTE defines a Physical Downlink Control Channel(PDCCH) as a DL control channel that carries the resource assignment forUEs that are contained in a Downlink Control Information (DCI) message.Multiple PDCCHs can be transmitted in the same subframe using ControlChannel Elements (CCE), each of which is a nine set of four resourceelements known as Resource Element Groups (REG). The PDCCH employsquadrature phase-shift keying (QPSK) modulation, with four QPSK symbolsmapped to each REG. Furthermore, 1, 2, 4, or 8 CCEs can be used for aUE, depending on channel conditions, to ensure sufficient robustness.

Additionally, LTE defines a Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH) as aUL channel shared by all devices (user equipment, UE) in a radio cell totransmit user data to the network. The scheduling for all UEs is undercontrol of the LTE base station (enhanced Node B, or eNB). The eNB usesthe uplink scheduling grant (DCI format 0) to inform the UE aboutresource block (RB) assignment, and the modulation and coding scheme tobe used. PUSCH typically supports QPSK and quadrature amplitudemodulation (QAM). In addition to user data, the PUSCH also carries anycontrol information necessary to decode the information, such astransport format indicators and multiple-in multiple-out (MIMO)parameters. Control data is multiplexed with information data prior todigital Fourier transform (DFT) spreading.

A proposed next telecommunications standard moving beyond the currentInternational Mobile Telecommunications-Advanced (IMT-Advanced)Standards is called 5th generation mobile networks or 5th generationwireless systems, or 5G for short (otherwise known as 5G-NR for 5G NewRadio, also simply referred to as NR). 5G-NR proposes a higher capacityfor a higher density of mobile broadband users, also supportingdevice-to-device, ultra-reliable, and massive machine communications, aswell as lower latency and lower battery consumption, than current LTEstandards. Further, the 5G-NR standard may allow for less restrictive UEscheduling as compared to current LTE standards. Consequently, effortsare being made in ongoing developments of 5G-NR to take advantage of theless restrictive UE scheduling in order to further leverage powersavings opportunities.

SUMMARY

Embodiments relate to apparatuses, systems, and methods forde-registration procedures for a wireless device in a fifth generation(5G) New Radio (NR) network.

In some embodiments, a user equipment device (UE) may be configured toperform methods for de-registration of the UE from a first access typeover a second access type. Methods also include procedures formaintaining state machines associated with both access types as well asprocedures to determine a connection for re-transmitting ade-registration request and to avoid collisions between proceduresassociated with the first and second access types. Further, methodsinclude an information element configured to indicate which access typehas been de-registered.

In some embodiments, a network entity or functional entity comprisedwithin the network entity and or within the UE may be configured toperform methods for de-registration of the UE from a first access typeover a second access type. Methods also include procedures formaintaining state machines associated with both access types as well asprocedures to determine a connection for re-transmitting ade-registration request and to avoid collisions between proceduresassociated with the first and second access types. Further, methodsinclude an information element configured to indicate which access typehas been de-registered.

The techniques described herein may be implemented in and/or used with anumber of different types of devices, including but not limited tocellular phones, tablet computers, wearable computing devices, portablemedia players, and any of various other computing devices.

This Summary is intended to provide a brief overview of some of thesubject matter described in this document. Accordingly, it will beappreciated that the above-described features are merely examples andshould not be construed to narrow the scope or spirit of the subjectmatter described herein in any way. Other features, aspects, andadvantages of the subject matter described herein will become apparentfrom the following Detailed Description, Figures, and Claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

A better understanding of the present subject matter can be obtainedwhen the following detailed description of various embodiments isconsidered in conjunction with the following drawings, in which:

FIG. 1A illustrates an example wireless communication system accordingto some embodiments.

FIG. 1B illustrates an example of a base station (BS) and an accesspoint in communication with a user equipment (UE) device according tosome embodiments.

FIG. 2 illustrates an example simplified block diagram of a WLAN AccessPoint (AP), according to some embodiments.

FIG. 3 illustrates an example block diagram of a UE according to someembodiments.

FIG. 4 illustrates an example block diagram of a BS according to someembodiments.

FIG. 5 illustrates an example block diagram of cellular communicationcircuitry, according to some embodiments.

FIG. 6A illustrates an example of connections between an EPC network, anLTE base station (eNB), and a 5G NR base station (gNB).

FIG. 6B illustrates an example of a protocol stack for an eNB and a gNB.

FIG. 7 illustrates an example of a 5G network architecture thatincorporates both 3GPP (e.g., cellular) and non-3GPP (e.g.,non-cellular) access to the 5G CN, according to some embodiments.

FIG. 8 illustrates an example of a baseband processor architecture for aUE, according to some embodiments.

FIGS. 9A-B illustrate an example of a de-registration accept typeattribute (or information element), according to some embodiments.

FIG. 10 illustrates a summary of usage of the de-registration accepttype information element, according to some embodiments.

FIG. 11 illustrates a flow diagram for determining which access type tore-transmit a de-registration request, according to some embodiments.

FIG. 12 illustrates a block diagram of an example of a method fordetermining whether to continue with a first procedure when a secondprocedure is initiated, according to some embodiments.

FIG. 13 illustrates a block diagram of an example of a method for ade-registration procedure of one access type over another access type,according to some embodiments.

FIG. 14 illustrates a block diagram of another example of a method for ade-registration procedure of one access type over another access type,according to some embodiments.

FIG. 15 illustrates a block diagram of an example of a method formaintaining NAS connection IDs during a de-registration procedure of oneaccess type over another access type, according to some embodiments.

FIG. 16 illustrates a block diagram of an example of a method fordetermining an access type to use for a de-registration procedure,according to some embodiments.

While the features described herein may be susceptible to variousmodifications and alternative forms, specific embodiments thereof areshown by way of example in the drawings and are herein described indetail. It should be understood, however, that the drawings and detaileddescription thereto are not intended to be limiting to the particularform disclosed, but on the contrary, the intention is to cover allmodifications, equivalents and alternatives falling within the spiritand scope of the subject matter as defined by the appended claims.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Terms

The following is a glossary of terms used in this disclosure:

Memory Medium—Any of various types of non-transitory memory devices orstorage devices. The term “memory medium” is intended to include aninstallation medium, e.g., a CD-ROM, floppy disks, or tape device; acomputer system memory or random access memory such as DRAM, DDR RAM,SRAM, EDO RAM, Rambus RAM, etc.; a non-volatile memory such as a Flash,magnetic media, e.g., a hard drive, or optical storage; registers, orother similar types of memory elements, etc. The memory medium mayinclude other types of non-transitory memory as well or combinationsthereof. In addition, the memory medium may be located in a firstcomputer system in which the programs are executed, or may be located ina second different computer system which connects to the first computersystem over a network, such as the Internet. In the latter instance, thesecond computer system may provide program instructions to the firstcomputer for execution. The term “memory medium” may include two or morememory mediums which may reside in different locations, e.g., indifferent computer systems that are connected over a network. The memorymedium may store program instructions (e.g., embodied as computerprograms) that may be executed by one or more processors.

Carrier Medium—a memory medium as described above, as well as a physicaltransmission medium, such as a bus, network, and/or other physicaltransmission medium that conveys signals such as electrical,electromagnetic, or digital signals.

Programmable Hardware Element—includes various hardware devicescomprising multiple programmable function blocks connected via aprogrammable interconnect. Examples include FPGAs (Field ProgrammableGate Arrays), PLDs (Programmable Logic Devices), FPOAs (FieldProgrammable Object Arrays), and CPLDs (Complex PLDs). The programmablefunction blocks may range from fine grained (combinatorial logic or lookup tables) to coarse grained (arithmetic logic units or processorcores). A programmable hardware element may also be referred to as“reconfigurable logic”.

Computer System—any of various types of computing or processing systems,including a personal computer system (PC), mainframe computer system,workstation, network appliance, Internet appliance, personal digitalassistant (PDA), television system, grid computing system, or otherdevice or combinations of devices. In general, the term “computersystem” can be broadly defined to encompass any device (or combinationof devices) having at least one processor that executes instructionsfrom a memory medium.

User Equipment (UE) (or “UE Device”)—any of various types of computersystems devices which are mobile or portable and which performs wirelesscommunications. Examples of UE devices include mobile telephones orsmart phones (e.g., iPhone™, Android™-based phones), portable gamingdevices (e.g., Nintendo DS™, PlayStation Portable™, Gameboy Advance™,iPhone™), laptops, wearable devices (e.g. smart watch, smart glasses),PDAs, portable Internet devices, music players, data storage devices, orother handheld devices, etc. In general, the term “UE” or “UE device”can be broadly defined to encompass any electronic, computing, and/ortelecommunications device (or combination of devices) which is easilytransported by a user and capable of wireless communication.

Base Station—The term “Base Station” has the full breadth of itsordinary meaning, and at least includes a wireless communication stationinstalled at a fixed location and used to communicate as part of awireless telephone system or radio system.

Processing Element—refers to various elements or combinations ofelements that are capable of performing a function in a device, such asa user equipment or a cellular network device. Processing elements mayinclude, for example: processors and associated memory, portions orcircuits of individual processor cores, entire processor cores,processor arrays, circuits such as an ASIC (Application SpecificIntegrated Circuit), programmable hardware elements such as a fieldprogrammable gate array (FPGA), as well any of various combinations ofthe above.

Channel—a medium used to convey information from a sender (transmitter)to a receiver. It should be noted that since characteristics of the term“channel” may differ according to different wireless protocols, the term“channel” as used herein may be considered as being used in a mannerthat is consistent with the standard of the type of device withreference to which the term is used. In some standards, channel widthsmay be variable (e.g., depending on device capability, band conditions,etc.). For example, LTE may support scalable channel bandwidths from 1.4MHz to 20 MHz. In contrast, WLAN channels may be 22 MHz wide whileBluetooth channels may be 1 Mhz wide. Other protocols and standards mayinclude different definitions of channels. Furthermore, some standardsmay define and use multiple types of channels, e.g., different channelsfor uplink or downlink and/or different channels for different uses suchas data, control information, etc.

Band—The term “band” has the full breadth of its ordinary meaning, andat least includes a section of spectrum (e.g., radio frequency spectrum)in which channels are used or set aside for the same purpose.

Automatically—refers to an action or operation performed by a computersystem (e.g., software executed by the computer system) or device (e.g.,circuitry, programmable hardware elements, ASICs, etc.), without userinput directly specifying or performing the action or operation. Thusthe term “automatically” is in contrast to an operation being manuallyperformed or specified by the user, where the user provides input todirectly perform the operation. An automatic procedure may be initiatedby input provided by the user, but the subsequent actions that areperformed “automatically” are not specified by the user, i.e., are notperformed “manually”, where the user specifies each action to perform.For example, a user filling out an electronic form by selecting eachfield and providing input specifying information (e.g., by typinginformation, selecting check boxes, radio selections, etc.) is fillingout the form manually, even though the computer system must update theform in response to the user actions. The form may be automaticallyfilled out by the computer system where the computer system (e.g.,software executing on the computer system) analyzes the fields of theform and fills in the form without any user input specifying the answersto the fields. As indicated above, the user may invoke the automaticfilling of the form, but is not involved in the actual filling of theform (e.g., the user is not manually specifying answers to fields butrather they are being automatically completed). The presentspecification provides various examples of operations beingautomatically performed in response to actions the user has taken.

Approximately—refers to a value that is almost correct or exact. Forexample, approximately may refer to a value that is within 1 to 10percent of the exact (or desired) value. It should be noted, however,that the actual threshold value (or tolerance) may be applicationdependent. For example, in some embodiments, “approximately” may meanwithin 0.1% of some specified or desired value, while in various otherembodiments, the threshold may be, for example, 2%, 3%, 5%, and soforth, as desired or as required by the particular application.

Substantially—refers to a term of approximation. Similar to the term“approximately,” substantially is meant to refer to some tolerablerange. Thus, if part A is substantially horizontal, then part A may behorizontal (90 degrees from vertical), or may be within some tolerablelimit of horizontal. For example, in one application, a range of 89-91degrees from vertical may be tolerable, whereas, in another application,a range of 85-95 degrees from vertical may be tolerable. Further, it maybe that the tolerable limit is one-sided. Thus, using the example of“part A is substantially horizontal,” it may be tolerable for Part A tobe in a range of 60-90 degrees from vertical, but not greater than 90degrees from vertical. Alternatively, it may be tolerable for Part A tobe in a range of 90-120 degrees from vertical but not less than 90degrees from vertical. Thus, the tolerable limit, and therefore, theapproximation referenced by use of the term substantially may be asdesired or as required by the particular application.

Concurrent—refers to parallel execution or performance, where tasks,processes, or programs are performed in an at least partiallyoverlapping manner. For example, concurrency may be implemented using“strong” or strict parallelism, where tasks are performed (at leastpartially) in parallel on respective computational elements, or using“weak parallelism”, where the tasks are performed in an interleavedmanner, e.g., by time multiplexing of execution threads.

Various components may be described as “configured to” perform a task ortasks. In such contexts, “configured to” is a broad recitation generallymeaning “having structure that” performs the task or tasks duringoperation. As such, the component can be configured to perform the taskeven when the component is not currently performing that task (e.g., aset of electrical conductors may be configured to electrically connect amodule to another module, even when the two modules are not connected).In some contexts, “configured to” may be a broad recitation of structuregenerally meaning “having circuitry that” performs the task or tasksduring operation. As such, the component can be configured to performthe task even when the component is not currently on. In general, thecircuitry that forms the structure corresponding to “configured to” mayinclude hardware circuits.

Various components may be described as performing a task or tasks, forconvenience in the description. Such descriptions should be interpretedas including the phrase “configured to.” Reciting a component that isconfigured to perform one or more tasks is expressly intended not toinvoke 35 U.S.C. § 112(f) interpretation for that component.

FIGS. 1A and 1B—Communication Systems

FIG. 1A illustrates a simplified example wireless communication system,according to some embodiments. It is noted that the system of FIG. 1 ismerely one example of a possible system, and that features of thisdisclosure may be implemented in any of various systems, as desired.

As shown, the example wireless communication system includes a basestation 102A which communicates over a transmission medium with one ormore user devices 106A, 106B, etc., through 106N. Each of the userdevices may be referred to herein as a “user equipment” (UE). Thus, theuser devices 106 are referred to as UEs or UE devices.

The base station (BS) 102A may be a base transceiver station (BTS) orcell site (a “cellular base station”) and may include hardware thatenables wireless communication with the UEs 106A through 106N.

The communication area (or coverage area) of the base station may bereferred to as a “cell.” The base station 102A and the UEs 106 may beconfigured to communicate over the transmission medium using any ofvarious radio access technologies (RATs), also referred to as wirelesscommunication technologies, or telecommunication standards, such as GSM,UMTS (associated with, for example, WCDMA or TD-SCDMA air interfaces),LTE, LTE-Advanced (LTE-A), 5G new radio (5G NR), HSPA, 3GPP2 CDMA2000(e.g., 1×RTT, 1×EV-DO, HRPD, eHRPD), etc. Note that if the base station102A is implemented in the context of LTE, it may alternately bereferred to as an ‘eNodeB’ or ‘eNB’. Note that if the base station 102Ais implemented in the context of 5G NR, it may alternately be referredto as ‘gNodeB’ or ‘gNB’.

As shown, the base station 102A may also be equipped to communicate witha network 100 (e.g., a core network of a cellular service provider, atelecommunication network such as a public switched telephone network(PSTN), and/or the Internet, among various possibilities). Thus, thebase station 102A may facilitate communication between the user devicesand/or between the user devices and the network 100. In particular, thecellular base station 102A may provide UEs 106 with varioustelecommunication capabilities, such as voice, SMS and/or data services.

Base station 102A and other similar base stations (such as base stations102B . . . 102N) operating according to the same or a different cellularcommunication standard may thus be provided as a network of cells, whichmay provide continuous or nearly continuous overlapping service to UEs106A-N and similar devices over a geographic area via one or morecellular communication standards.

Thus, while base station 102A may act as a “serving cell” for UEs 106A-Nas illustrated in FIG. 1, each UE 106 may also be capable of receivingsignals from (and possibly within communication range of) one or moreother cells (which might be provided by base stations 102B-N and/or anyother base stations), which may be referred to as “neighboring cells”.Such cells may also be capable of facilitating communication betweenuser devices and/or between user devices and the network 100. Such cellsmay include “macro” cells, “micro” cells, “pico” cells, and/or cellswhich provide any of various other granularities of service area size.For example, base stations 102A-B illustrated in FIG. 1 might be macrocells, while base station 102N might be a micro cell. Otherconfigurations are also possible.

In some embodiments, base station 102A may be a next generation basestation, e.g., a 5G New Radio (5G NR) base station, or “gNB”. In someembodiments, a gNB may be connected to a legacy evolved packet core(EPC) network and/or to a NR core (NRC) network. In addition, a gNB cellmay include one or more transition and reception points (TRPs). Inaddition, a UE capable of operating according to 5G NR may be connectedto one or more TRPs within one or more gNBs.

Note that a UE 106 may be capable of communicating using multiplewireless communication standards. For example, the UE 106 may beconfigured to communicate using a wireless networking (e.g., Wi-Fi)and/or peer-to-peer wireless communication protocol (e.g., Bluetooth,Wi-Fi peer-to-peer, etc.) in addition to at least one cellularcommunication protocol (e.g., GSM, UMTS (associated with, for example,WCDMA or TD-SCDMA air interfaces), LTE, LTE-A, 5G NR, HSPA, 3GPP2CDMA2000 (e.g., 1×RTT, 1×EV-DO, HRPD, eHRPD), etc.). The UE 106 may alsoor alternatively be configured to communicate using one or more globalnavigational satellite systems (GNSS, e.g., GPS or GLONASS), one or moremobile television broadcasting standards (e.g., ATSC-M/H or DVB-H),and/or any other wireless communication protocol, if desired. Othercombinations of wireless communication standards (including more thantwo wireless communication standards) are also possible.

FIG. 1B illustrates user equipment 106 (e.g., one of the devices 106Athrough 106N) in communication with a base station 102 and an accesspoint 112, according to some embodiments. The UE 106 may be a devicewith both cellular communication capability and non-cellularcommunication capability (e.g., Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, and so forth) such asa mobile phone, a hand-held device, a computer or a tablet, or virtuallyany type of wireless device.

The UE 106 may include a processor that is configured to execute programinstructions stored in memory. The UE 106 may perform any of the methodembodiments described herein by executing such stored instructions.Alternatively, or in addition, the UE 106 may include a programmablehardware element such as an FPGA (field-programmable gate array) that isconfigured to perform any of the method embodiments described herein, orany portion of any of the method embodiments described herein.

The UE 106 may include one or more antennas for communicating using oneor more wireless communication protocols or technologies. In someembodiments, the UE 106 may be configured to communicate using, forexample, CDMA2000 (1×RTT/1×EV-DO/HRPD/eHRPD), LTE/LTE-Advanced, or 5G NRusing a single shared radio and/or GSM, LTE, LTE-Advanced, or 5G NRusing the single shared radio. The shared radio may couple to a singleantenna, or may couple to multiple antennas (e.g., for MIMO) forperforming wireless communications. In general, a radio may include anycombination of a baseband processor, analog RF signal processingcircuitry (e.g., including filters, mixers, oscillators, amplifiers,etc.), or digital processing circuitry (e.g., for digital modulation aswell as other digital processing). Similarly, the radio may implementone or more receive and transmit chains using the aforementionedhardware. For example, the UE 106 may share one or more parts of areceive and/or transmit chain between multiple wireless communicationtechnologies, such as those discussed above.

In some embodiments, the UE 106 may include separate transmit and/orreceive chains (e.g., including separate antennas and other radiocomponents) for each wireless communication protocol with which it isconfigured to communicate. As a further possibility, the UE 106 mayinclude one or more radios which are shared between multiple wirelesscommunication protocols, and one or more radios which are usedexclusively by a single wireless communication protocol. For example,the UE 106 might include a shared radio for communicating using eitherof LTE or 5G NR (or LTE or 1×RTT or LTE or GSM), and separate radios forcommunicating using each of Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. Other configurationsare also possible.

FIG. 2—Access Point Block Diagram

FIG. 2 illustrates an exemplary block diagram of an access point (AP)112. It is noted that the block diagram of the AP of FIG. 2 is only oneexample of a possible system. As shown, the AP 112 may includeprocessor(s) 204 which may execute program instructions for the AP 112.The processor(s) 204 may also be coupled (directly or indirectly) tomemory management unit (MMU) 240, which may be configured to receiveaddresses from the processor(s) 204 and to translate those addresses tolocations in memory (e.g., memory 260 and read only memory (ROM) 250) orto other circuits or devices.

The AP 112 may include at least one network port 270. The network port270 may be configured to couple to a wired network and provide aplurality of devices, such as UEs 106, access to the Internet. Forexample, the network port 270 (or an additional network port) may beconfigured to couple to a local network, such as a home network or anenterprise network. For example, port 270 may be an Ethernet port. Thelocal network may provide connectivity to additional networks, such asthe Internet.

The AP 112 may include at least one antenna 234, which may be configuredto operate as a wireless transceiver and may be further configured tocommunicate with UE 106 via wireless communication circuitry 230. Theantenna 234 communicates with the wireless communication circuitry 230via communication chain 232. Communication chain 232 may include one ormore receive chains, one or more transmit chains or both. The wirelesscommunication circuitry 230 may be configured to communicate via Wi-Fior WLAN, e.g., 802.11. The wireless communication circuitry 230 mayalso, or alternatively, be configured to communicate via various otherwireless communication technologies, including, but not limited to, 5GNR, Long-Term Evolution (LTE), LTE Advanced (LTE-A), Global System forMobile (GSM), Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA), CDMA2000,etc., for example when the AP is co-located with a base station in caseof a small cell, or in other instances when it may be desirable for theAP 112 to communicate via various different wireless communicationtechnologies.

In some embodiments, as further described below, AP 112 may beconfigured to perform methods to establish, with a peer wireless device,a peer-to-peer data communication session (e.g., a paged data link),where the AP 112 and the peer wireless device are associated with a datacluster. The AP 112 may be configured to determine that the AP 112 hasone or more pending data frames to transmit for the paged data link andtransmit, outside a scheduled paging window associated with the pageddata link, a beacon to the peer wireless station. In some embodiments,the beacon may include a paging attribute indicating the pending dataframes. In some embodiments, devices within the data cluster may havescheduled periodic common resource blocks (CRBs) and the beacon may betransmitted in the common CRBs. In some embodiments, the beacon may betransmitted in a discovery window. In some embodiments, the beacon maybe a discovery beacon or a synchronization beacon.

In some embodiments, as further described below, an AP 112 may beconfigured to perform methods to improve de-registration procedures asfurther described herein.

FIG. 3—Block Diagram of a UE

FIG. 3 illustrates an example simplified block diagram of acommunication device 106, according to some embodiments. It is notedthat the block diagram of the communication device of FIG. 3 is only oneexample of a possible communication device. According to embodiments,communication device 106 may be a user equipment (UE) device, a mobiledevice or mobile station, a wireless device or wireless station, adesktop computer or computing device, a mobile computing device (e.g., alaptop, notebook, or portable computing device), a tablet and/or acombination of devices, among other devices. As shown, the communicationdevice 106 may include a set of components 300 configured to performcore functions. For example, this set of components may be implementedas a system on chip (SOC), which may include portions for variouspurposes. Alternatively, this set of components 300 may be implementedas separate components or groups of components for the various purposes.The set of components 300 may be coupled (e.g., communicatively;directly or indirectly) to various other circuits of the communicationdevice 106.

For example, the communication device 106 may include various types ofmemory (e.g., including NAND flash 310), an input/output interface suchas connector I/F 320 (e.g., for connecting to a computer system; dock;charging station; input devices, such as a microphone, camera, keyboard;output devices, such as speakers; etc.), the display 360, which may beintegrated with or external to the communication device 106, andcellular communication circuitry 330 such as for 5G NR, LTE, GSM, etc.,and short to medium range wireless communication circuitry 329 (e.g.,Bluetooth™ and WLAN circuitry). In some embodiments, communicationdevice 106 may include wired communication circuitry (not shown), suchas a network interface card, e.g., for Ethernet.

The cellular communication circuitry 330 may couple (e.g.,communicatively; directly or indirectly) to one or more antennas, suchas antennas 335 and 336 as shown. The short to medium range wirelesscommunication circuitry 329 may also couple (e.g., communicatively;directly or indirectly) to one or more antennas, such as antennas 337and 338 as shown. Alternatively, the short to medium range wirelesscommunication circuitry 329 may couple (e.g., communicatively; directlyor indirectly) to the antennas 335 and 336 in addition to, or insteadof, coupling (e.g., communicatively; directly or indirectly) to theantennas 337 and 338. The short to medium range wireless communicationcircuitry 329 and/or cellular communication circuitry 330 may includemultiple receive chains and/or multiple transmit chains for receivingand/or transmitting multiple spatial streams, such as in amultiple-input multiple output (MIMO) configuration.

In some embodiments, as further described below, cellular communicationcircuitry 330 may include dedicated receive chains (including and/orcoupled to, e.g., communicatively; directly or indirectly. dedicatedprocessors and/or radios) for multiple RATs (e.g., a first receive chainfor LTE and a second receive chain for 5G NR). In addition, in someembodiments, cellular communication circuitry 330 may include a singletransmit chain that may be switched between radios dedicated to specificRATs. For example, a first radio may be dedicated to a first RAT, e.g.,LTE, and may be in communication with a dedicated receive chain and atransmit chain shared with an additional radio, e.g., a second radiothat may be dedicated to a second RAT, e.g., 5G NR, and may be incommunication with a dedicated receive chain and the shared transmitchain.

The communication device 106 may also include and/or be configured foruse with one or more user interface elements. The user interfaceelements may include any of various elements, such as display 360 (whichmay be a touchscreen display), a keyboard (which may be a discretekeyboard or may be implemented as part of a touchscreen display), amouse, a microphone and/or speakers, one or more cameras, one or morebuttons, and/or any of various other elements capable of providinginformation to a user and/or receiving or interpreting user input.

The communication device 106 may further include one or more smart cards345 that include SIM (Subscriber Identity Module) functionality, such asone or more UICC(s) (Universal Integrated Circuit Card(s)) cards 345.

As shown, the SOC 300 may include processor(s) 302, which may executeprogram instructions for the communication device 106 and displaycircuitry 304, which may perform graphics processing and provide displaysignals to the display 360. The processor(s) 302 may also be coupled tomemory management unit (MMU) 340, which may be configured to receiveaddresses from the processor(s) 302 and translate those addresses tolocations in memory (e.g., memory 306, read only memory (ROM) 350, NANDflash memory 310) and/or to other circuits or devices, such as thedisplay circuitry 304, short range wireless communication circuitry 229,cellular communication circuitry 330, connector I/F 320, and/or display360. The MMU 340 may be configured to perform memory protection and pagetable translation or set up. In some embodiments, the MMU 340 may beincluded as a portion of the processor(s) 302.

As noted above, the communication device 106 may be configured tocommunicate using wireless and/or wired communication circuitry. Thecommunication device 106 may be configured to perform methods to improvede-registration procedures as further described herein.

As described herein, the communication device 106 may include hardwareand software components for implementing the above features for acommunication device 106 to communicate a scheduling profile for powersavings to a network. The processor 302 of the communication device 106may be configured to implement part or all of the features describedherein, e.g., by executing program instructions stored on a memorymedium (e.g., a non-transitory computer-readable memory medium).Alternatively (or in addition), processor 302 may be configured as aprogrammable hardware element, such as an FPGA (Field Programmable GateArray), or as an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit).Alternatively (or in addition) the processor 302 of the communicationdevice 106, in conjunction with one or more of the other components 300,304, 306, 310, 320, 329, 330, 340, 345, 350, 360 may be configured toimplement part or all of the features described herein.

In addition, as described herein, processor 302 may include one or moreprocessing elements. Thus, processor 302 may include one or moreintegrated circuits (ICs) that are configured to perform the functionsof processor 302. In addition, each integrated circuit may includecircuitry (e.g., first circuitry, second circuitry, etc.) configured toperform the functions of processor(s) 302.

Further, as described herein, cellular communication circuitry 330 andshort-range wireless communication circuitry 329 may each include one ormore processing elements. In other words, one or more processingelements may be included in cellular communication circuitry 330 and,similarly, one or more processing elements may be included in shortrange wireless communication circuitry 329. Thus, cellular communicationcircuitry 330 may include one or more integrated circuits (ICs) that areconfigured to perform the functions of cellular communication circuitry330. In addition, each integrated circuit may include circuitry (e.g.,first circuitry, second circuitry, etc.) configured to perform thefunctions of cellular communication circuitry 230. Similarly, theshort-range wireless communication circuitry 329 may include one or moreICs that are configured to perform the functions of short-range wirelesscommunication circuitry 32. In addition, each integrated circuit mayinclude circuitry (e.g., first circuitry, second circuitry, etc.)configured to perform the functions of short-range wirelesscommunication circuitry 329.

FIG. 4—Block Diagram of a Base Station

FIG. 4 illustrates an example block diagram of a base station 102,according to some embodiments. It is noted that the base station of FIG.4 is merely one example of a possible base station. As shown, the basestation 102 may include processor(s) 404 which may execute programinstructions for the base station 102. The processor(s) 404 may also becoupled to memory management unit (MMU) 440, which may be configured toreceive addresses from the processor(s) 404 and translate thoseaddresses to locations in memory (e.g., memory 460 and read only memory(ROM) 450) or to other circuits or devices.

The base station 102 may include at least one network port 470. Thenetwork port 470 may be configured to couple to a telephone network andprovide a plurality of devices, such as UE devices 106, access to thetelephone network as described above in FIGS. 1 and 2.

The network port 470 (or an additional network port) may also oralternatively be configured to couple to a cellular network, e.g., acore network of a cellular service provider. The core network mayprovide mobility related services and/or other services to a pluralityof devices, such as UE devices 106. In some cases, the network port 470may couple to a telephone network via the core network, and/or the corenetwork may provide a telephone network (e.g., among other UE devicesserviced by the cellular service provider).

In some embodiments, base station 102 may be a next generation basestation, e.g., a 5G New Radio (5G NR) base station, or “gNB”. In suchembodiments, base station 102 may be connected to a legacy evolvedpacket core (EPC) network and/or to a NR core (NRC) network. Inaddition, base station 102 may be considered a 5G NR cell and mayinclude one or more transition and reception points (TRPs). In addition,a UE capable of operating according to 5G NR may be connected to one ormore TRPs within one or more gNB s.

The base station 102 may include at least one antenna 434, and possiblymultiple antennas. The at least one antenna 434 may be configured tooperate as a wireless transceiver and may be further configured tocommunicate with UE devices 106 via radio 430. The antenna 434communicates with the radio 430 via communication chain 432.Communication chain 432 may be a receive chain, a transmit chain orboth. The radio 430 may be configured to communicate via variouswireless communication standards, including, but not limited to, 5G NR,LTE, LTE-A, GSM, UMTS, CDMA2000, Wi-Fi, etc.

The base station 102 may be configured to communicate wirelessly usingmultiple wireless communication standards. In some instances, the basestation 102 may include multiple radios, which may enable the basestation 102 to communicate according to multiple wireless communicationtechnologies. For example, as one possibility, the base station 102 mayinclude an LTE radio for performing communication according to LTE aswell as a 5G NR radio for performing communication according to 5G NR.In such a case, the base station 102 may be capable of operating as bothan LTE base station and a 5G NR base station. As another possibility,the base station 102 may include a multi-mode radio which is capable ofperforming communications according to any of multiple wirelesscommunication technologies (e.g., 5G NR and Wi-Fi, LTE and Wi-Fi, LTEand UMTS, LTE and CDMA2000, UMTS and GSM, etc.).

As described further subsequently herein, the BS 102 may includehardware and software components for implementing or supportingimplementation of features described herein. The processor 404 of thebase station 102 may be configured to implement or supportimplementation of part or all of the methods described herein, e.g., byexecuting program instructions stored on a memory medium (e.g., anon-transitory computer-readable memory medium). Alternatively, theprocessor 404 may be configured as a programmable hardware element, suchas an FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array), or as an ASIC (ApplicationSpecific Integrated Circuit), or a combination thereof. Alternatively(or in addition) the processor 404 of the BS 102, in conjunction withone or more of the other components 430, 432, 434, 440, 450, 460, 470may be configured to implement or support implementation of part or allof the features described herein.

In addition, as described herein, processor(s) 404 may be comprised ofone or more processing elements. In other words, one or more processingelements may be included in processor(s) 404. Thus, processor(s) 404 mayinclude one or more integrated circuits (ICs) that are configured toperform the functions of processor(s) 404. In addition, each integratedcircuit may include circuitry (e.g., first circuitry, second circuitry,etc.) configured to perform the functions of processor(s) 404.

Further, as described herein, radio 430 may be comprised of one or moreprocessing elements. In other words, one or more processing elements maybe included in radio 430. Thus, radio 430 may include one or moreintegrated circuits (ICs) that are configured to perform the functionsof radio 430. In addition, each integrated circuit may include circuitry(e.g., first circuitry, second circuitry, etc.) configured to performthe functions of radio 430.

FIG. 5: Block Diagram of Cellular Communication Circuitry

FIG. 5 illustrates an example simplified block diagram of cellularcommunication circuitry, according to some embodiments. It is noted thatthe block diagram of the cellular communication circuitry of FIG. 5 isonly one example of a possible cellular communication circuit. Accordingto embodiments, cellular communication circuitry 330 may be include in acommunication device, such as communication device 106 described above.As noted above, communication device 106 may be a user equipment (UE)device, a mobile device or mobile station, a wireless device or wirelessstation, a desktop computer or computing device, a mobile computingdevice (e.g., a laptop, notebook, or portable computing device), atablet and/or a combination of devices, among other devices.

The cellular communication circuitry 330 may couple (e.g.,communicatively; directly or indirectly) to one or more antennas, suchas antennas 335 a-b and 336 as shown (in FIG. 3). In some embodiments,cellular communication circuitry 330 may include dedicated receivechains (including and/or coupled to, e.g., communicatively; directly orindirectly. dedicated processors and/or radios) for multiple RATs (e.g.,a first receive chain for LTE and a second receive chain for 5G NR). Forexample, as shown in FIG. 5, cellular communication circuitry 330 mayinclude a modem 510 and a modem 520. Modem 510 may be configured forcommunications according to a first RAT, e.g., such as LTE or LTE-A, andmodem 520 may be configured for communications according to a secondRAT, e.g., such as 5G NR.

As shown, modem 510 may include one or more processors 512 and a memory516 in communication with processors 512. Modem 510 may be incommunication with a radio frequency (RF) front end 530. RF front end530 may include circuitry for transmitting and receiving radio signals.For example, RF front end 530 may include receive circuitry (RX) 532 andtransmit circuitry (TX) 534. In some embodiments, receive circuitry 532may be in communication with downlink (DL) front end 550, which mayinclude circuitry for receiving radio signals via antenna 335 a.

Similarly, modem 520 may include one or more processors 522 and a memory526 in communication with processors 522. Modem 520 may be incommunication with an RF front end 540. RF front end 540 may includecircuitry for transmitting and receiving radio signals. For example, RFfront end 540 may include receive circuitry 542 and transmit circuitry544. In some embodiments, receive circuitry 542 may be in communicationwith DL front end 560, which may include circuitry for receiving radiosignals via antenna 335 b.

In some embodiments, a switch 570 may couple transmit circuitry 534 touplink (UL) front end 572. In addition, switch 570 may couple transmitcircuitry 544 to UL front end 572. UL front end 572 may includecircuitry for transmitting radio signals via antenna 336. Thus, whencellular communication circuitry 330 receives instructions to transmitaccording to the first RAT (e.g., as supported via modem 510), switch570 may be switched to a first state that allows modem 510 to transmitsignals according to the first RAT (e.g., via a transmit chain thatincludes transmit circuitry 534 and UL front end 572). Similarly, whencellular communication circuitry 330 receives instructions to transmitaccording to the second RAT (e.g., as supported via modem 520), switch570 may be switched to a second state that allows modem 520 to transmitsignals according to the second RAT (e.g., via a transmit chain thatincludes transmit circuitry 544 and UL front end 572).

In some embodiments, the cellular communication circuitry 330 may beconfigured to perform methods to improve de-registration procedures asfurther described herein.

As described herein, the modem 510 may include hardware and softwarecomponents for implementing the above features or for time divisionmultiplexing UL data for NSA NR operations, as well as the various othertechniques described herein. The processors 512 may be configured toimplement part or all of the features described herein, e.g., byexecuting program instructions stored on a memory medium (e.g., anon-transitory computer-readable memory medium). Alternatively (or inaddition), processor 512 may be configured as a programmable hardwareelement, such as an FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array), or as an ASIC(Application Specific Integrated Circuit). Alternatively (or inaddition) the processor 512, in conjunction with one or more of theother components 530, 532, 534, 550, 570, 572, 335 and 336 may beconfigured to implement part or all of the features described herein.

In addition, as described herein, processors 512 may include one or moreprocessing elements. Thus, processors 512 may include one or moreintegrated circuits (ICs) that are configured to perform the functionsof processors 512. In addition, each integrated circuit may includecircuitry (e.g., first circuitry, second circuitry, etc.) configured toperform the functions of processors 512.

As described herein, the modem 520 may include hardware and softwarecomponents for implementing the above features for communicating ascheduling profile for power savings to a network, as well as thevarious other techniques described herein. The processors 522 may beconfigured to implement part or all of the features described herein,e.g., by executing program instructions stored on a memory medium (e.g.,a non-transitory computer-readable memory medium). Alternatively (or inaddition), processor 522 may be configured as a programmable hardwareelement, such as an FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array), or as an ASIC(Application Specific Integrated Circuit). Alternatively (or inaddition) the processor 522, in conjunction with one or more of theother components 540, 542, 544, 550, 570, 572, 335 and 336 may beconfigured to implement part or all of the features described herein.

In addition, as described herein, processors 522 may include one or moreprocessing elements. Thus, processors 522 may include one or moreintegrated circuits (ICs) that are configured to perform the functionsof processors 522. In addition, each integrated circuit may includecircuitry (e.g., first circuitry, second circuitry, etc.) configured toperform the functions of processors 522.

5G NR Architecture with LTE

In some implementations, fifth generation (5G) wireless communicationwill initially be deployed concurrently with current wirelesscommunication standards (e.g., LTE). For example, dual connectivitybetween LTE and 5G new radio (5G NR or NR) has been specified as part ofthe initial deployment of NR. Thus, as illustrated in FIGS. 6A-B,evolved packet core (EPC) network 600 may continue to communicate withcurrent LTE base stations (e.g., eNB 602). In addition, eNB 602 may bein communication with a 5G NR base station (e.g., gNB 604) and may passdata between the EPC network 600 and gNB 604. Thus, EPC network 600 maybe used (or reused) and gNB 604 may serve as extra capacity for UEs,e.g., for providing increased downlink throughput to UEs. In otherwords, LTE may be used for control plane signaling and NR may be usedfor user plane signaling. Thus, LTE may be used to establish connectionsto the network and NR may be used for data services.

FIG. 6B illustrates a proposed protocol stack for eNB 602 and gNB 604.As shown, eNB 602 may include a medium access control (MAC) layer 632that interfaces with radio link control (RLC) layers 622 a-b. RLC layer622 a may also interface with packet data convergence protocol (PDCP)layer 612 a and RLC layer 622 b may interface with PDCP layer 612 b.Similar to dual connectivity as specified in LTE-Advanced Release 12,PDCP layer 612 a may interface via a master cell group (MCG) bearer toEPC network 600 whereas PDCP layer 612 b may interface via a splitbearer with EPC network 600.

Additionally, as shown, gNB 604 may include a MAC layer 634 thatinterfaces with RLC layers 624 a-b. RLC layer 624 a may interface withPDCP layer 612 b of eNB 602 via an X2 interface for information exchangeand/or coordination (e.g., scheduling of a UE) between eNB 602 and gNB604. In addition, RLC layer 624 b may interface with PDCP layer 614.Similar to dual connectivity as specified in LTE-Advanced Release 12,PDCP layer 614 may interface with EPC network 600 via a secondary cellgroup (SCG) bearer. Thus, eNB 602 may be considered a master node (MeNB)while gNB 604 may be considered a secondary node (SgNB). In somescenarios, a UE may be required to maintain a connection to both an MeNBand a SgNB. In such scenarios, the MeNB may be used to maintain a radioresource control (RRC) connection to an EPC while the SgNB may be usedfor capacity (e.g., additional downlink and/or uplink throughput).

5G Core Network Architecture—Interworking with Wi-Fi

In some embodiments, the 5G core network (CN) may be accessed via (orthrough) a cellular connection/interface (e.g., via a 3GPP communicationarchitecture/protocol) and a non-cellular connection/interface (e.g., anon-3GPP access architecture/protocol such as Wi-Fi connection). FIG. 7illustrates an example of a 5G network architecture that incorporatesboth 3GPP (e.g., cellular) and non-3GPP (e.g., non-cellular) access tothe 5G CN, according to some embodiments.

As shown, a user equipment device (e.g., such as UE 106) may access the5G CN through both a radio access network (RAN, e.g., such as gNB orbase station 604) and an access point, such as AP 112. The AP 112 mayinclude a connection to the Internet 700 as well as a connection to anon-3GPP inter-working function (N3IWF) 702 network entity. The N3IWFmay include a connection to a core access and mobility managementfunction (AMF) 704 of the 5G CN. The AMF 704 may include an instance ofa 5G mobility management (5G MM) function associated with the UE 106. Inaddition, the RAN (e.g., gNB 604) may also have a connection to the AMF704. Thus, the 5G CN may support unified authentication over bothconnections as well as allow simultaneous registration for UE 106 accessvia both gNB 604 and AP 112. As shown, the AMF 704 may include one ormore functional entities associated with the 5G CN (e.g., network sliceselection function (NSSF) 720, short message service function (SMSF)722, application function (AF) 724, unified data management (UDM) 726,policy control function (PCF) 728, and/or authentication server function(AUSF) 730). Note that these functional entities may also be supportedby a session management function (SMF) 706 a and an SMF 706 b of the 5GCN. The AMF 706 may be connected to (or in communication with) the SMF706 a. Further, the gNB 604 may in communication with (or connected to)a user plane function (UPF) 708 a that may also be communication withthe SMF 706 a. Similarly, the N3IWF 702 may be communicating with a UPF708 b that may also be communicating with the SMF 706 b. Both UPFs maybe communicating with the data network (e.g., DN 710 a and 710 b) and/orthe Internet 700 and IMS core network 710.

Note that in various embodiments, one or more of the above describednetwork entities may be configured to perform methods for enhanced 5Gde-registration procedures, e.g., as further described herein.

FIG. 8 illustrates an example of a baseband processor architecture for aUE (e.g., such as UE 106), according to some embodiments. The basebandprocessor architecture 800 described in FIG. 8 may be implemented on oneor more radios (e.g., radios 329 and/or 330 described above) or modems(e.g., modems 510 and/or 520) as described above. As shown, thenon-access stratum (NAS) 810 may include a 5G NAS 820 and a legacy NAS850. The legacy NAS 850 may include a communication connection with alegacy access stratum (AS) 870. The 5G NAS 820 may include communicationconnections with both a 5G AS 840 and a non-3GPP AS 830 and Wi-Fi AS832. The 5G NAS 820 may include functional entities associated with bothaccess stratums. Thus, the 5G NAS 820 may include multiple 5G MMentities 826 and 828 and 5G session management (SM) entities 822 and824. The legacy NAS 850 may include functional entities such as shortmessage service (SMS) entity 852, evolved packet system (EPS) sessionmanagement (ESM) entity 854, session management (SM) entity 856, EPSmobility management (EMM) entity 858, and mobility management (MM)/GPRSmobility management (GMM) entity 860. In addition, the legacy AS 870 mayinclude functional entities such as LTE AS 872, UMTS AS 874, and/orGSM/GPRS AS 876.

Thus, the baseband processor architecture 800 allows for a common 5G-NASfor both 5G cellular and non-cellular (e.g., non-3GPP access). Note thatas shown, the 5G MM may maintain individual connection management andregistration management state machines for each connection.Additionally, a device (e.g., UE 106) may register to a single PLMN(e.g., 5G CN) using 5G cellular access as well as non-cellular access.Further, it may be possible for the device to be in a connected state inone access and an idle state in another access and vice versa. Finally,there may be common 5G-MM procedures (e.g., registration,de-registration, identification, authentication, as so forth) for bothaccesses.

Note that in various embodiments, one or more of the above describedfunctional entities of the 5G NAS and/or 5G AS may be configured toperform methods for enhanced 5G de-registration procedures, e.g., asfurther described herein.

5G De-Registration Procedure Enhancements

In some existing implementations, a device may register to a singlepublic land mobile network (PLMN) (e.g., a common 5G core network) viaboth cellular (e.g., 3GPP defined protocol) access and non-cellular(e.g., non-3GPP defined protocol) access. Once registered, a device mayinitiate a de-registration procedure when certain events (e.g.,switch-off (powering down), airplane mode enablement, UICC removal, UICCcredential change/update/etc., 5G disabled for both accesses, and soforth). Note that de-registration may be required for both access typesresponsive to the certain events. Thus, according to 3GPP TS 24.501Release 15, a device may de-register from both accesses with a singlede-registration message. In addition, an access type information element(IE) is included in the de-registration request message. Note thataccording to 3GPP TS 24.501 Release 15, Figure 5.5.2.2.1.1 a timer T3521is initiated when the de-registration request is sent and stopped when ade-registration accept message is received. Note additionally, thatthere may be scenarios in which the UE may attempt to de-register foraccess type “A” over access type “B”. For example, a UE may be leaving(or losing) Wi-Fi coverage and the UE may initiate de-registration ofthe Wi-Fi access (e.g., non-3GPP access) 5G MM over a cellular (e.g.,3GPP access) connection.

3GPP TS 24.501 Release 15, Section 5.5.2.2.1 further states that “[t]hede-registration procedure is initiated by the UE by sending aDEREGISTRATION REQUEST message . . . [t]he De-registration type IEincluded in the message indicates whether the de-registration procedureis due to a ‘switch off’ or not.” In addition, the message includes anaccess type to indicate “whether the de-registration procedure is:

a) for 5GS services over 3GPP access when the UE is registered over 3GPPaccess only;

b) for 5GS services over non-3GPP access when the UE is registered overnon-3GPP access only; or

c) for 5GS services over 3GPP access, non-3GPP access or both 3GPPaccess and non-3GPP access when the UE is registered in the same PLMNover both accesses.” Further, “[i]f the de-registration request is notdue to switch off and the UE is in the state 5G MM-REGISTERED or 5GMM-REGISTERED-INITIATED, timer T3521 shall be started in the UE afterthe DEREGISTRATION REQUEST message has been sent.” Thus, “[t]he UE shallenter the state 5G MM-DEREGISTERED-INITIATED.” These state transitionsare defined by Figure 5.1.3.2.1.1.1 of 3GPP TS 24.501 Release 15. Inaddition to specifying UE behavior, 3GPP TS 24.501 section 5.5.2.3.1specifies network behavior for a de-registration process. For example,“[t]he network shall also indicate via the access type whether thede-registration procedure is for 3GPP access, or for both 3GPP accessand non-3GPP access when the UE is registered in the same PLMN for bothaccesses.”

Thus, to summarize de-registration procedures as specified in 3GPP TS24.501 Release 15, a 5G NAS MM (5G MM) may initiate de-registration inthe following ways:

(1) Deregistration for 3GPP 5G MM over 3GPP access;

(2) Deregistration for non-3GPP 5G MM over non-3GPP access;

(3) Deregistration for non-3GPP 5G MM over 3GPP access;

(4) Deregistration for 3GPP 5G MM over non-3GPP access;

(5) Deregistration for non-3GPP as well as 3GPP accesses over 3GPPaccess; or

(6) Deregistration for non-3GPP as well as 3GPP accesses over non-3GPPaccess.

As specified by Figure 5.1.3.2.1.1.1 of 3GPP TS 24.501 Release 15, theUE may enter a 5G MM-De-Registered-Initiated state when ade-registration procedure is initiated. Then, upon successful completionof the de-registration procedure, the UE may enter a 5G MM-De-registeredstate. Note that a UE may initiate a service request for any pendinguplink data, or for an incoming page, only when the 5G MM state is 5GMM-Registered.

However, when a UE attempts to send de-registration request for 5G MMaccess type “A” (e.g., 3GPP) over physical access type “B” (e.g.,non-3GPP), it is not clear in the 3GPP specification which 5G MM statemachine would transition to 5G MM-DEREGISTERED-INITIATED. Thus,embodiments described herein include methods for state machine handlingwhen (1) de-registration request for non-3GPP 5G MM is transmitted over3GPP access; (2) de-registration request for 3GPP 5G MM is transmittedover non-3GPP access; (3) de-registration request for non-3GPP 5G MM aswell as 3GPP 5GMM is transmitted over 3GPP access; and (4)de-registration for non-3GPP 5G MM as well as 3GPP 5G MM is transmittedover non-3GPP access.

In some embodiments, the 5G MM which initiated the de-registrationrequest may transition (or move) to 5GMM-DEREGISTRATION-INITIATED state.For example, if a non-3GPP 5G MM initiated a de-registration requestthat was transmitted over a 3GPP or a non-3GPP access, then the non-3GPP5G MM may transition to the 5GMM-DEREGISTRATION-INITIATED STATE whilethe 3GPP 5G MM may retain its existing state. As another example, if a3GPP 5G MM initiated a de-registration request that was transmitted overa 3GPP or a non-3GPP access, then 3GPP 5G MM may transition to the5GMM-DEREGISTRATION-INITIATED STATE while the non-3GPP 5G MM may retainits existing state. As a further example, if a de-registration requestwas initiated for both 3GPP 5G MM as well as non-3GPP 5G MM atapproximately the same time, both the 5G MMs may transition to the5GMM-DEREGISTRATION-INITIATED state.

Alternatively, in some embodiments, a 5G MM corresponding to the accessover which a de-registration request is being transmitted may transitionto a 5G MM DEREGISTRATION-INITIATED state and may internally remember(e.g., via an entry in a data structure) the “access type” included inthe de-registration request. In such embodiments, any service requestinitiated for the “other” access type may be honored. For example, if ade-registration procedure is initiated for non-3GPP 5G MM over 3GPPaccess, 3GPP 5G MM may transition to a DEREGISTRATION-INITIATED STATEand the non-3GPP 5G MM may also transition to DEREGISTRATION-INITIATEDSTATE. However, any Service request (e.g., due to a data and/orsignaling) initiated for 3GPP 5G MM may be honored by the UE (e.g.,based on the entry in the data structure indicating which access typewas de-registered).

Alternatively, in some embodiments, a 5G MM corresponding to the accessover which a de-registration request is being transmitted may transitionto an 5G MM-DEREGISTRATION-INITIATED-FOR-OTHER-ACCESS state. Such astate may allow for any data and/or signaling. For example, if ade-registration procedure is initiated for non-3GPP 5G MM over 3GPPaccess, 3GPP 5G MM may transition to aDEREGISTRATION-INITIATED-FOR-OTHER-ACCESS STATE and the non-3GPP 5G MMmay transition to DEREGISTRATION-INITIATED STATE. Note that in someembodiments, any service request (e.g., due to a data and/or signaling)initiated for 3GPP 5G MM may be honored by the UE inDEREGISTRATION-INITIATED-FOR-OTHER-ACCESS STATE.

In some scenarios, a UE may initiate de-registration requests for bothaccess types. For example, a UE may initiate a de-registration requestfor a non-3GPP 5G MM over 3GPP access and prior to receiving ade-registration acceptance message, the UE may initiate ade-registration request for a 3GPP 5G MM over the 3GPP access. Inresponse, and according to 3GPP TS 24.501 Release 15 Section 5.5.2.2.2,“the AMF shall send a DEREGISTRATION ACCEPT message to the UE, if thede-registration type IE does not indicate ‘switch off’.” In addition,Section 5.5.2.2.2 states that “the procedure is completed when the AMFreceives the DEREGISTRATION REQUEST message” if the IE does indicate“switch off”. Further, Section 5.5.2.2.2 instructs that “[t]he UE, whenreceiving the DEREGISTRATION ACCEPT message, shall stop timer T3521.”Hence, according to the standard, an AMF may transmit a de-registrationaccept message for either or both of the 3GPP 5G MM or the non-3GPP 5GMM. However, upon receipt of the de-registration accept message, the3GPP 5G MM may not know whether the message is for the 3GPP or non-3GPPde-registration procedure. Thus, the UE may not know which 5G MM totransition to a DEREGISTERED state.

In some embodiments, a de-registration accept type attribute may beincluded in a de-registration accept message. In some embodiments, asillustrated by FIG. 9A, the de-registration accept type attribute (orinformation element) may be a type 1 information element (IE) and mayinclude 8 bits with bits 1 and 2 identifying an access type. Forexample, a value of “00000001” may indicate 3GPP access, a value of“00000010” may indicate non-3GPP access, and a value of “00000011” mayindicate 3GPP access and non-3GPP access. In other words, as illustratedby FIG. 9B, a de-registration accept type information element with avalue of bits 2 and 1 of “01” may indicate 3GPP access. Similarly, ade-registration accept type information element with a value of bits 2and 1 of “10” may indicate non-3GPP access. Further, a de-registrationaccept type information element with a value of bits 2 and 1 of “11” mayindicate 3GPP access and non-3GPP access. In addition, thede-registration accept type IE may be considered mandatory for aderegistration accept message. Further, in some embodiments, thestandardized “de-registration type” IE may be renamed as“de-registration request type” IE.

In some embodiments, for example, a UE (such as UE 106) may initiate ade-registration request for a non-3GPP 5G MM over a 3GPP access andbefore receiving de-registration accept message from an AMF, the UEinitiates a de-registration request for a 3GPP 5G MM over 3GPP Access.In such an instance, the AMF may determine to transmit any of (1) ade-registration accept message including a de-registration accept typeIE indicating “non-3GPP access” thereby completing de-registration forthe non-3GPP access; (2) a de-registration accept message including ade-registration accept type IE indicating “3GPP access” therebycompleting de-registration for the 3GPP access; or (3) a de-registrationaccept message including a de-registration accept type IE indicating“3GPP access and non-3GPP access” thereby completing de-registration forboth the 3GPP access and the non-3GPP access (e.g., assuming bothde-registration requests have been received from the UE).

As another example, in some embodiments, when a UE and/or an AMF hasrequested de-registration for both 3GPP and non-3GPP 5G MMs, the AMFand/or UE may send de-registration accept messages for each 5G MMindividually and in any order. FIG. 10 summarizes usage of thede-registration accept type IE, according to some embodiments. As shown,when a value of a de-registration accept type IE included in ade-registration request message indicates “3GPP”, a value of ade-registration accept type IE included in a de-registration acceptmessage may indicate “3GPP” or “3GPP and non-3GPP” (e.g., if, and onlyif, there is a pending de-registration request being processed for anon-3GPP 5G MM). Further, when a value of a de-registration accept typeIE included in a de-registration request message indicates “non-3GPP”, avalue of a de-registration accept type IE included in a de-registrationaccept message may indicate “non-3GPP” or “3GPP and non-3GPP” (e.g., if,and only if, there is a pending de-registration request being processedfor a 3GPP 5G MM). Additionally, when a value of a de-registrationaccept type IE included in a de-registration request message indicates“3GPP and non-3GPP”, a value of a de-registration accept type IEincluded in a de-registration accept message may indicate “3GPP”,“non-3GPP” or “3GPP and non-3GPP”.

In some implementations, tracking of NAS counts may be compromised whena de-registration request for an access type “A” is transmitted over anaccess type “B”. For example, according to 3GPP TS 33.501 Release 15Section 6.3.2.2, “[w]hen the UE is registered in a serving network overtwo types of access (e.g. 3GPP and non-3GPP), then the UE has two activeNAS connections with the same AMF.” Further, since “[a] common 5G NASsecurity context is created during the registration procedure over thefirst access type” and “[i]n order to realize cryptographic separationand replay protection, the common NAS security-context shall haveparameters specific to each NAS connection.” As specified, “connectionspecific parameters include a pair of NAS COUNTs for uplink and downlinkand unique NAS connection identifier” and a “value of the unique NASconnection identifier shall be set to ‘0’ for 3GPP access and set to ‘1’for non-3GPP access.” Additionally, according to 3GPP TS 24.501 Release15 Section 4.4.3, “[e]ach 5G NAS security context shall be associatedwith two separate counters NAS COUNT per access type in the same PLMN.”A first NAS COUNT is “related to uplink NAS messages” and a second NASCOUNT is “related to downlink NAS messages.” In addition, “[i]f the 5GNAS security context is used for access via both 3GPP and non-3GPPaccess in the same PLMN, there are two NAS COUNT counter pairsassociated with the 5G NAS security context.” Thus, it is unclear fromthe specifications on which NAS COUNTs to be used for scenarios wherede-registration for an access type “A” is transmitted over an accesstype “B”.

In some embodiments, when a de-registration request for an access type“A” is transmitted over access type “B”, a UE/AMF/NW may continue to usea NAS COUNT and a NAS connection identifier (ID) corresponding to accesstype B. In other words, the UE/AMF/NW may continue to use a NAS COUNTand a NAS connection ID associated with the 5G MM used for transmissionof the de-registration request.

In some implementations (e.g., according to 3GPP TS 24.501 Release 15Section 5.5.2.2.6), a device/network may decide on which access type ade-registration request may be re-transmitted. In such instances, a UEmay re-transmit de-registration requests on a different access type thana previous attempt, e.g., upon one of the first four expirations of aT3521 timer.

FIG. 11 illustrates a flow diagram for determining which access type tore-transmit a de-registration request, according to some embodiments.The flow diagram shown in FIG. 11 may be used in conjunction with any ofthe systems or devices shown in the above Figures, among other devices.In various embodiments, some of the elements shown may be performedconcurrently, in a different order than shown, or may be omitted.Additional elements may also be performed as desired. As shown, the flowdiagram may operate as follows.

At 1100, a counter (e.g., countdereg access flip) may be initialized toa value of “0” upon initiation of a de-registration procedure.Additionally, a threshold associated with the counter may be configured.In some embodiments, the value of the threshold may be set to 2,however, other values are contemplated. Upon expiration of a T3521 timeat 1102, the flow diagram may determine an access type used for a priorde-registration attempt at 1104. If 3GPP access was used, the flowdiagram may continue to determine whether a non-3GPP 5G MM is in aREGISTERED state and/or a CM-Connected state at 1106. If the non-3GPP 5GMM is not in one of these states, the flow diagram may determine to use3GPP access for a de-registration re-transmission at 1108.Alternatively, if the non-3GPP 5G MM is in one of the states, thecounter may be compared to the threshold at 1110. If the counter isgreater than or equal to the threshold, the flow diagram may determineto use an original access type (e.g., access type used of initialde-registration request) for the de-registration retransmission at 1114and the flow diagram may return to 1100. However, if the counter is lessthan the threshold, the counter may be incremented and non-3GPP accesstype may be used for the de-registration re-transmission attempt at 1112and the flow diagram may return to 1100.

Alternatively, if non-3GPP access was used, the flow diagram maycontinue to determine whether a 3GPP 5G MM is in a REGISTERED state at1116. If the 3GPP 5G MM is not in the REGISTERED state, the flow diagrammay determine to use non-3GPP access for a de-registrationre-transmission at 1118. Alternatively, if the 3GPP 5G MM is in theREGISTERED state, the counter may be compared to the threshold at 1120.If the counter is greater than or equal to the threshold, the flowdiagram may determine to use an original access type (e.g., access typeused of initial de-registration request) for the de-registrationre-transmission at 1114 and the flow diagram may return to 1100.However, if the counter is less than the threshold, the counter may beincremented and 3GPP access type may be used for the de-registrationre-transmission attempt at 1122 and the flow diagram may return to 1100.

In some scenarios, a UE may be registered over a non-3GPP access and mayinitiated registration for 3GPP access. In such instances, as soon asregistration for the 3GPP access is complete, the UE may initiate ade-registration procedure for the non-3GPP access. However, according to3GPP TS 24.501 Release 15 Section 5.5.1.2.4, the AMF may not immediatelyrelease the 3GPP connection if the UE has indicated “follow-on requestpending” or if the network has pending downlink signaling. Thus, someembodiments, a UE (e.g., UE 106) may take advantage of the option ofderegistering a non-3GPP access over a 3GPP access. Additionally, sincea registration for the 3GPP access may be ongoing, the UE may use thesame NAS signaling connection in order to send the de-registrationrequest for non-3GPP over 3GPP access by indicating “follow-on requestpending” in a registration request message. In some embodiments, the UEmay use information from a 5G MM of the non-3GPP access and make adecision on indicating “follow-on request pending” in the registrationrequest message based on the information from the 5G MM of the non-3GPPaccess.

In some scenarios, a UE may be registered over a non-3GPP access withsome PDN sessions and may initiate registration for 3GPP access. In suchinstances, as soon as registration for the 3GPP access is complete, theUE may move some (or) all PDN connections from non-3GPP to 3GPP access.However, according to 3GPP TS 24.501 Release 15 Section 5.5.1.2.4, theAMF may not immediately release the 3GPP connection if the UE hasindicated “follow-on request pending” or if the network has pendingdownlink signaling. Since a registration for the 3GPP access may beongoing, the UE may use the same NAS signaling connection in order totransfer the PDN sessions from non-3GPP to 3GPP access by indicating“follow-on request pending” in a registration request message. In someembodiments, the UE may use information from a 5G MM of the non-3GPPaccess and make a decision on indicating “follow-on request pending” inthe registration request message based on the information from the 5G MMof the non-3GPP access.

In various implementations of the current standard, there may beinstances (or scenarios) in which a procedure initiated by a UE/network“collides” with a de-registration procedure initiated by the network/UE.For example, in some implementations, a UE and a network may bothinitiate de-registration procedures. As another example, there may be a“collision” during a network initiated de-registration procedure and aUE registration procedure. Further, in some implementations, there maybe a “collision” during a network initiated de-registration procedureand a UE initiated service request. Similarly, in some implementations,there may be a “collision” during a network initiated registrationprocedure and a UE initiated de-registration procedure. Additionally, insome implementations, there may be a “collision” during a security modecontrol procedure and a UE initiated de-registration procedure. Inaddition, in some implementations, there may be a “collision” during ade-registration procedure for one access type when a second access typeis supporting an emergency services session.

In each of the above described instances, it is unclear how the networkand/or UE should proceed with the access types for the variousprocedures are not aligned. In other words, the standard is ambiguous inscenarios when a first procedure is initiated (and/or ongoing) for afirst access type (e.g., 3GPP or non-3GPP) and a de-registrationprocedure is initiated for a second access type. Thus, embodimentsdescribed herein include methods for mitigating ambiguities during“collisions” of various procedures with de-registration requests.

For example, FIG. 12 illustrates a block diagram of an example of amethod for determining whether to continue with a first procedure when asecond procedure is initiated, according to some embodiments. The methodshown in FIG. 12 may be used in conjunction with any of the systems ordevices shown in the above Figures, among other devices. In variousembodiments, some of the method elements shown may be performedconcurrently, in a different order than shown, or may be omitted.Additional method elements may also be performed as desired. As shown,this method may operate as follows.

At 1202, a first procedure for a first access type may be initiated. Insome embodiments, the first procedure may be initiated by a UE, such asUE 106. In some embodiments, the first procedure may be initiated by anetwork (and/or network entity, such as an AMF or gNB 604). In someembodiments, the first access type may be one of cellular (e.g., 3GPP)or non-cellular (e.g., non-3GPP). In some embodiments, the firstprocedure may be one of a de-registration procedure initiated by the UEor the network, a registration procedure initiated by the network, asecurity mode control procedure initiated by the network, and/or anongoing emergency services session.

At 1204, a second procedure for a second access type may be initiated.In some embodiments, the second procedure may be initiated by the UE(e.g., UE 106). In some embodiments, the second procedure may beinitiated by the network (and/or network entity, such as an AMF or gNB604). In some embodiments, the second access type may be one of cellular(e.g., 3GPP) or non-cellular (e.g., non-3GPP). In some embodiments, thesecond procedure may be one of a de-registration procedure initiated bythe network or the UE, a registration procedure initiated by the UE, aservice request initiated by the UE, and/or an ongoing emergencyservices session.

At 1206, the first access type may be compared to the second accesstype. In some embodiments, the UE may determine whether the first accesstype and the second access type are the same (e.g., match). In someembodiments, the network may determine whether the first access type andthe second access type are the same (e.g., match).

At 1208, in response to determining that the first and the second accesstypes are not the same, both the first procedure and the secondprocedure may continue. Alternatively, at 1210, in response todetermining that the first and second access types are the same, thefirst procedure may continue and the second procedure may be ignoredand/or aborted.

Below are specific examples of current implementations and applicationsof the exemplary method of FIG. 12. Note that the applications of theexemplary method of FIG. 12 may be stand-alone applications or may becombined with any or all of the below described applications. Notefurther that the scenarios and applications described herein areexemplary only and not intended to be limiting, as other applications ofthe exemplary method of FIG. 12 are within the scope of this disclosure.

In some implementations, there may be a “collision” during ade-registration procedure. In other words, both a UE and a network (oran AMF) may initiate de-registration procedures at substantially thesame time. According to 3GPP TS 24.501 Release 15 Section 5.5.2.2.6,“[i]f the UE receives a DEREGISTRATION REQUEST message before theUE-initiated de-registration procedure has been completed,” the UE willtreat the message according to subclause 5.5.2.3.2 (incorporated byreference herein), accept that “[i]f the DEREGISTRATION REQUEST messagereceived by the UE contains de-registration type “re-registrationrequired”, and the UE-initiated de-registration procedure is withderegistration type “normal de-registration”, the UE need not initiatethe registration procedure for initial registration.” However, when a UEis registered on both 3GPP and non-3GPP access and the network (or theAMF) transmits a de-registration request with de-registration type setto “re-registration required” for 3GPP access over 3GPP access and, atthe same time (e.g., in parallel,) the UE has initiated de-registrationfor non-3GPP 5G MM over 3GPP access, it is unclear how the UE shouldrespond.

Thus, in some embodiments, the UE may honor (e.g., initiate) there-registration request for 3GPP access. For example, the standard maybe modified to include that “if the access type for UE initiatedderegistration is a subset of the access type in the DEREGISTRATIONREQUEST received by the UE, the UE need not initiate the registrationprocedure for initial registration for the access type in the UEinitiated deregistration.” However, “if the access type for UE initiatedderegistration is not a subset of the access type in the DEREGISTRATIONREQUEST received by the UE, the UE shall honor the request forre-registration.” In other words, in some embodiments, if the accesstype of the re-registration request is the same as the access type theUE is attempting to de-register, the UE may not be required to initiatethe re-registration process. However, in some embodiments, if the accesstype of the re-registration request is not the same as the access typethe UE is attempting to de-register, the UE may be required to initiatethe re-registration process.

In some implementations there may be a “collision” during a networkinitiated de-registration procedure and a UE registration procedure. Inother words, the network may initiate a de-registration procedure as theUE is initiating a registration procedure. According to 3GPP TS 24.501Release 15 Section 5.5.2.2.5, “[i]f the network sent a DEREGISTRATIONREQUEST message indicating ‘re-registration required’ in theDe-registration type IE and the network receives a REGISTRATION REQUESTmessage” that indicates either “periodic registration updating” or“mobility registration updating” in a “5GS registration type IE beforethe network initiated de-registration procedure has been completed, thede-registration procedure shall be progressed.” In other words, “theREGISTRATION REQUEST message shall be ignored.” However, when a UE isregistered on 3GPP and non-3GPP accesses and the network sends ade-registration request with a de-registration type set to“reregistration required” for non-3GPP access over 3GPP access and atthe same time in parallel, the UE has initiated a registration requestfor 3GPP access (e.g., for a periodic registration update), it isunclear how the network should proceed.

Thus, in some embodiments, a network (e.g., gNB 604) may honor andprocess such a registration request from a UE (such as UE 106) for 3GPPaccess. For example, the standard may be modified to include that thede-registration message indicates “re-registration required” in thede-registration type IE “as well as indicating the access type toinclude ‘3GPP access’”. In other words, the network may honor andprocess the registration request from the UE when the de-registrationmessage and the registration request indicates the same access type.

In some implementations, there may be a “collision” during a networkinitiated de-registration procedure and a UE initiated service request.In other words, the network may initiate a de-registration procedure asthe UE is initiating a service request. According to 3GPP TS 24.501Release 15 Section 5.6.1.7, “[i]f the UE receives a DEREGISTRATIONREQUEST message from the network in state 5GMM-SERVICE-REQUEST-INITIATED, the UE shall progress the DEREGISTRATIONREQUEST message and the service request procedure shall be aborted.”However, when a UE is registered on both 3GPP and non-3GPP access andthe network (or the AMF) transmits a de-registration request fornon-3GPP access over 3GPP access and at the same time the UE initiates aservice request for pending uplink data over 3GPP access, it is unclearhow the service request procedure should proceed.

Thus, in some embodiments, in such a scenario, a service requestprocedure may proceed over 3GPP access. For example, the standard may bemodified to include that “the service request shall only be aborted onlyif ‘Access type’ in DEREGISTRATION REQUEST includes the access type overwhich the Service request message was sent by the lower layers.” Inother words, the service request may only be aborted when the accesstype of the service request matches the access type of thede-registration request.

In some implementations, there may be a “collision” during a networkinitiated registration procedure and a UE initiated de-registrationprocedure. In other words, the network may initiate a registrationprocedure as the UE is initiating a de-registration procedure. Accordingto 3GPP TS 24.501 Release 15 Section 5.5.1.2.8, if a de-registrationrequest message is received prior to a registration complete message,the “AMF shall abort the registration procedure for initialregistration” and progress the de-registration procedure as described insubclause 5.5.2.2. In addition, the standard notes that “[t]heDEREGISTRATION REQUEST message can be sent by the UE without integrityprotection, e.g. if the UE is registered for emergency services andthere is no shared 5G NAS security context available, or if due to userinteraction a registration procedure is cancelled before the secureexchange of NAS messages has been established.” However, where a UE is5G MM registered over 3GPP access for emergency services and during anongoing registration procedure for a non-3GPP 5G MM and the UE initiatesde-registration request for 3GPP 5G MM over non-3GPP access, it isunclear how the network should proceed.

Thus, in some embodiments, in such a scenario, a network may honor andproceed with the registration procedure for non-3GPP 5G MM. For example,the standard may be modified to include that the AMF may progress thede-registration procedure as described in subclause 5.5.2.2 “only if theaccess for which REGISTRATION procedure is ongoing is part of the‘Access type’ in DEREGISTRATION REQUEST.” In other words, the AMF mayprogress the de-registration procedure only when the access type of theregistration procedure matches the access type of the de-registrationprocedure.

In some implementations, there may be a “collision” during a securitymode control procedure and a UE initiated de-registration procedure. Inother words, the network may initiate a security mode control procedureas the UE is initiating a de-registration procedure. According to 3GPPTS 24.501 Release 15 Section 5.4.2.7, when there is a “[c]ollisionbetween security mode control procedure and registration, servicerequest or de-registration procedure not indicating switch off” thesecurity mode control procedure should be aborted by the network and thenetwork should “proceed with the UE initiated procedure.” However, whena UE is registered on both 3GPP and non-3GPP access and while a securitymode procedure is ongoing for 3GPP access, the UE initiates ade-registration request for non-3GPP access over 3GPP access, it isunclear how the network should proceed.

Thus, in some embodiments, in such a scenario, a network may processwith the security mode procedure for the 3GPP access. For example, thestandard may be modified to include that the de-registration procedurenot indicating switch off should be “for the same access type wheresecurity mode control procedure is ongoing.” In other words, the networkmay abort the security mode control procedure only when the access typefor the security mode control procedure matches the access type for thede-registration request.

In some implementations, there may be a “collision” during ade-registration procedure for one access type when a second access typeis supporting an emergency services session. In other words, a user datamanagement (UDM) function for a UE with an active session for emergencyservices using one access type may initiate a de-registration procedurefor a second access type. According to 3GPP TS 24.501 Release 15 Section5.5.2.1, “[i]f the de-registration procedure is requested by the UDM fora UE that has PDU sessions for emergency services, the AMF shall notsend a DEREGISTRATION REQUEST message to the UE.” However, when the UEhas an active session for emergency services using one access type andinitiates a de-registration procedure for a second access type, it isunclear how the network should proceed.

Thus, in some embodiments, in such a scenario, a network may proceedwith the de-registration request when the access types are not the sameand may ignore the de-registration request from the UDM if the accesstype are the same. For example, the standard may be modified to includethat the AMF may not send a de-registration request message to the UEwhen “the access-type of the DEREGISTRATION REQUEST is the same as theaccess type over which the UE has the PDU session for Emergencyservices.” In other words, the AMF may ignore the de-registrationrequest from the UDM when the de-registration request would discontinuethe emergency services session.

Example Embodiments

FIGS. 13-16 further illustrate exemplary embodiments of methods forde-registration procedures for a wireless device in a fifth generation(5G) New Radio (NR) network. Note that the methods shown in FIGS. 13-16may be used in conjunction with any of the systems, methods, or devicesshown in the above Figures, among other methods and/or devices, as wellas in conjunction with one another.

FIG. 13 illustrates a block diagram of an example of a method for ade-registration procedure of one access type over another access type,according to some embodiments. The method shown in FIG. 13 may be usedin conjunction with any of the systems or devices shown in the aboveFigures, among other devices. In various embodiments, some of the methodelements shown may be performed concurrently, in a different order thanshown, or may be omitted. Additional method elements may also beperformed as desired. As shown, this method may operate as follows.

At 1302, a de-registration procedure for (at least) a first access typemay be initiated over a connection for a second access type. In someembodiments, the de-registration procedure may be initiated by a UE (ora processor of the UE, e.g., executing program instructions), such as UE106. In some embodiments, a mobility management (MM) state machineassociated with each access type may be maintained, e.g., by the UE. Inother words, a first MM state machine associated with the first accesstype may be maintained and a second MM state machine associated with thesecond access type may be maintained.

In some embodiments, initiating the de-registration procedure for (atleast) the first access type over the connection for the second accesstype may include initiating a de-registration procedure for the secondaccess type over the connection for the second access type andtransitioning the second MM state machine associated with the secondaccess type to a de-registration initiated state. In some embodiments,initiating the de-registration procedure may include transmitting, overthe connection for the second access type, a de-registration requestmessage and receiving, over the connection for the second access type, ade-registration accept message. In some embodiments, the de-registrationaccept message may include an information element indicatingde-registration of at least one of the first access type, the secondaccess type, and the first access type and the second access type. Insome embodiments, the information element may include eight bits. Insome embodiments, the first and second bits of the eight bits mayindicate the access type. In some embodiments, a value of theinformation element of 0000001 may indicate the first access type, avalue of the information element of 0000010 may indicate the secondaccess type, and a value of the information element of 00000011 mayindicate both the first access type and the second access type.

At 1304, a mobility management entity state machine associated with thefirst access type may be transitioned to a de-registration initiatedstate. In some embodiments, a current state of the second MM statemachine may be maintained as part of the de-registration procedure. Inother words, the current state of the second MM state machine may not bechanged (transitioned) as part of the de-registration procedure.

In some embodiments, the first access type may be one of cellularcommunications and non-cellular communications. In some embodiments, thefirst access type may be according to a cellular communication protocol,such LTE or 5G NR and the second access type may be according anon-cellular communication protocol, such as Wi-Fi. In some embodiments,the second access type may be according to a cellular communicationprotocol, such LTE or 5G NR and the first access type may be according anon-cellular communication protocol, such as Wi-Fi.

FIG. 14 illustrates a block diagram of another example of a method for ade-registration procedure of one access type over another access type,according to some embodiments. The method shown in FIG. 14 may be usedin conjunction with any of the systems or devices shown in the aboveFigures, among other devices. In various embodiments, some of the methodelements shown may be performed concurrently, in a different order thanshown, or may be omitted. Additional method elements may also beperformed as desired. As shown, this method may operate as follows.

At 1402, a first de-registration procedure for a first access type maybe initiated over a connection for a second access type. In someembodiments, the first de-registration procedure may be initiated by aUE (or a processor of the UE, e.g., executing program instructions),such as UE 106. In some embodiments, the UE may be connected to anetwork via the first access type and the second access type.

At 1404, a second de-registration procedure for the second access typemay be initiated over the connection for the second access type prior tocompletion of the first de-registration procedure. In other words,during the first de-registration procedure for the first access type,the second de-registration procedure for the second access type may beinitiated.

At 1406, a de-registration accept message may be received over theconnection for the second access type. In some embodiments, thede-registration accept message may include an information element thatmay indicate de-registration for (at least) one of the first accesstype, the second access type, and/or both the first access type and thesecond access type. In some embodiments, the information element mayinclude eight bits. In some embodiments, the first and second bits ofthe eight bits may indicate the access type. In some embodiments, avalue of the information element of 0000001 may indicate the firstaccess type, a value of the information element of 0000010 may indicatethe second access type, and a value of the information element of00000011 may indicate both the first access type and the second accesstype.

In some embodiments, the first access type may be one of cellularcommunications and non-cellular communications. In some embodiments, thefirst access type may be according to a cellular communication protocol,such LTE or 5G NR and the second access type may be according anon-cellular communication protocol, such as Wi-Fi. In some embodiments,the second access type may be according to a cellular communicationprotocol, such LTE or 5G NR and the first access type may be according anon-cellular communication protocol, such as Wi-Fi.

FIG. 15 illustrates a block diagram of an example of a method formaintaining NAS connection IDs during a de-registration procedure of oneaccess type over another access type, according to some embodiments. Themethod shown in FIG. 15 may be used in conjunction with any of thesystems or devices shown in the above Figures, among other devices. Invarious embodiments, some of the method elements shown may be performedconcurrently, in a different order than shown, or may be omitted.Additional method elements may also be performed as desired. As shown,this method may operate as follows.

At 1502, counters associated with a number on non-access stratum (NAS)connections for a first connection over a first access type and a secondconnection over a second access type may be maintained. In someembodiments, the counters may be maintained by a UE (or a processor ofthe UE, e.g., executing program instructions), such as UE 106. In someembodiments, the UE may be connected to a network via the first accesstype and the second access type.

At 1504, a first NAS connection ID for the first connection and a secondNAS connection ID for may be maintained.

At 1506, a de-registration request for the first access type may betransmitted over the second connection.

At 1508, counters associated with the NAS connections associated withthe second connection and the NAS connection ID for the secondconnection may continue to be used. In other words, when ade-registration request for the first access type is transmitted overthe second access type, a UE/AMF/NW may continue to use a NAS counterand a NAS connection ID corresponding to (or associated with) the secondaccess type. Thus, the UE/AMF/NW may continue to use a NAS counter and aNAS connection ID associated with an access type used for transmissionof the de-registration request

In some embodiments, the first access type may be one of cellularcommunications and non-cellular communications. In some embodiments, thefirst access type may be according to a cellular communication protocol,such LTE or 5G NR and the second access type may be according anon-cellular communication protocol, such as Wi-Fi. In some embodiments,the second access type may be according to a cellular communicationprotocol, such LTE or 5G NR and the first access type may be according anon-cellular communication protocol, such as Wi-Fi.

FIG. 16 illustrates a block diagram of an example of a method fordetermining an access type to use for a de-registration procedure,according to some embodiments. The method shown in FIG. 16 may be usedin conjunction with any of the systems or devices shown in the aboveFigures, among other devices. In various embodiments, some of the methodelements shown may be performed concurrently, in a different order thanshown, or may be omitted. Additional method elements may also beperformed as desired. As shown, this method may operate as follows.

At 1602, a de-registration procedure for a first access type may beinitiated. In some embodiments, the counters may be maintained by a UE(or a processor of the UE, e.g., executing program instructions), suchas UE 106. In some embodiments, the UE may be connected to a networkover a first connection corresponding to (or associated with) a firstaccess type and a second connection corresponding to (or associatedwith) a second access type.

At 1604, a counter, a threshold associated with (or corresponding to)the counter, and a timer may be initiated.

At 1606, upon (or at) expiration of the timer, a type of connection usedfor a prior de-registration attempt may be determined. In other words,upon (or at) expiration of the timer, whether the first connection orthe second connection was used for a prior de-registration attempt.

At 1608, upon determining that the first connection was used for theprior-deregistration attempt, it may be determined whether the secondconnection is active. In some embodiments, if the second connection isnot active, the first connection may be used for a de-registrationrequest re-transmission at 1616. Alternatively, if the second connectionis active, it may be determined whether the counter in less than thethreshold at 1610.

At 1614, if the counter in not less than the threshold, the counter maybe reset and the first connection may be used for a de-registrationrequest re-transmission. Alternatively, if the counter is less than thethreshold, the counter may be incremented and the second connection maybe used a de-registration request re-transmission at 1612.

At 1618, upon determining that the second connection was used for theprior-deregistration attempt, it may be determined whether the firstconnection is active. In some embodiments, if the first connection isnot active, the second connection may be used for a de-registrationrequest re-transmission at 1626. Alternatively, if the first connectionis active, it may be determined whether the counter in less than thethreshold at 1620.

At 1624, if the counter in not less than the threshold, the counter maybe reset and the second connection may be used for a de-registrationrequest re-transmission. Alternatively, if the counter is less than thethreshold, the counter may be incremented and the first connection maybe used a de-registration request re-transmission at 1622.

In some embodiments, the first access type may be one of cellularcommunications and non-cellular communications. In some embodiments, thefirst access type may be according to a cellular communication protocol,such LTE or 5G NR and the second access type may be according anon-cellular communication protocol, such as Wi-Fi. In some embodiments,the second access type may be according to a cellular communicationprotocol, such LTE or 5G NR and the first access type may be according anon-cellular communication protocol, such as Wi-Fi.

Further Embodiments

In some embodiments, a method for a de-registration procedure for awireless device, such as UE 106, in a fifth generation (5G) New Radio(NR) network may include initiating a de-registration procedure for atleast the first access type over a connection for the second accesstype; and transitioning a first mobility management (MM) state machineassociated with the first access type to a de-registration initiatedstate.

In some embodiments, the method may further include maintaining acurrent state of a second MM state machine associated with the secondaccess type.

In some embodiments, the method may further include initiating thede-registration procedure for at least the first access type over theconnection for the second access type further comprises initiating ade-registration procedure for the second access type over the connectionfor the second access type; and wherein the method may further includetransitioning a second MM state machine associated with the secondaccess type to a de-registration initiated state.

In some embodiments, the first access type may be one of cellularcommunications and non-cellular communications and the second accesstype may be one of cellular communications and non-cellularcommunications. In other embodiments, the first access type may beaccording to a cellular communication protocol, and the second accesstype may be according to a non-cellular communication protocol. In someembodiments, the first access type maybe according to a non-cellularcommunication protocol and the second access type may be according to acellular communication protocol. In some embodiments, the cellularcommunication protocol may be fifth generation (5G) new radio (NR). Insome embodiments, the non-cellular communications protocol may be Wi-Fi.

In some embodiments, initiating the de-registration procedure mayfurther include transmitting, over the connection for the second accesstype, a de-registration request message and receiving, over theconnection for the second access type, a de-registration accept message,wherein the de-registration accept message may include an informationelement indicating de-registration of at least one of the first accesstype, the second access type, and the first access type and the secondaccess type. In some embodiments, the information element may includeeight bits, wherein first and second bits of the eight bits indicate theaccess type. In some embodiments, a value of the information element of0000001 may indicate the first access type, a value of the informationelement of 0000010 may indicate the second access type, and a value ofthe information element of 00000011 may indicate both the first accesstype and the second access type.

In some embodiments, a device including at least one antenna, at leastone radio coupled to the at least one antenna, and a processing elementcoupled to the at least one radio may be configured to implement themethod. In some embodiments, a (non-transitory) memory medium mayinclude program instructions that, when executed, cause implementationof the method. In some embodiments, an apparatus may include a memoryand at least one processor in communication with the memory and may beconfigured to implement the method.

In some embodiments, a method for a de-registration procedure for awireless device, such as UE 106, in a fifth generation (5G) New Radio(NR) network may include initiating a first de-registration procedurefor a first access type over a connection for the second access type;initiating, prior to completion of the first de-registration procedure,a second de-registration procedure for a second access type over theconnection for the second access type; and receiving, from a networkentity over the connection for the second access type, a de-registrationaccept message, wherein the de-registration accept message comprises aninformation element indicating de-registration of at least one of thefirst access type, the second access type, and the first access type andthe second access type.

In some embodiments, the information element may include eight bits,wherein first and second bits of the eight bits indicate the accesstype. In some embodiments, a value of the information element of 0000001may indicate the first access type, a value of the information elementof 0000010 may indicate the second access type, and a value of theinformation element of 00000011 may indicate both the first access typeand the second access type.

In some embodiments, the first access type may be one of cellularcommunications and non-cellular communications and the second accesstype may be one of cellular communications and non-cellularcommunications. In other embodiments, the first access type may beaccording to a cellular communication protocol, and the second accesstype may be according to a non-cellular communication protocol. In someembodiments, the first access type maybe according to a non-cellularcommunication protocol and the second access type may be according to acellular communication protocol. In some embodiments, the cellularcommunication protocol may be fifth generation (5G) new radio (NR). Insome embodiments, the non-cellular communications protocol may be Wi-Fi.

In some embodiments, a device including at least one antenna, at leastone radio coupled to the at least one antenna, and a processing elementcoupled to the at least one radio may be configured to implement themethod. In some embodiments, a (non-transitory) memory medium mayinclude program instructions that, when executed, cause implementationof the method. In some embodiments, an apparatus may include a memoryand at least one processor in communication with the memory and may beconfigured to implement the method.

In some embodiments, a method for a de-registration procedure for awireless device, such as UE 106, in a fifth generation (5G) New Radio(NR) network may include maintaining one or more counters associatedwith a number of non-access stratum (NAS) connections for each of afirst connection over the first access type and a second connection overthe second access type; maintaining a first NAS connection identifierfor the first connection and a second NAS connection identifier for thesecond connection; transmitting a de-registration request for a firstaccess type over the second connection; and continuing use of countersassociated with NAS connections associated with the second connectionand the NAS connection identifier for the second connection.

In some embodiments, the first access type may be one of cellularcommunications and non-cellular communications and the second accesstype may be one of cellular communications and non-cellularcommunications. In other embodiments, the first access type may beaccording to a cellular communication protocol, and the second accesstype may be according to a non-cellular communication protocol. In someembodiments, the first access type maybe according to a non-cellularcommunication protocol and the second access type may be according to acellular communication protocol. In some embodiments, the cellularcommunication protocol may be fifth generation (5G) new radio (NR). Insome embodiments, the non-cellular communications protocol may be Wi-Fi.

In some embodiments, a device including at least one antenna, at leastone radio coupled to the at least one antenna, and a processing elementcoupled to the at least one radio may be configured to implement themethod. In some embodiments, a (non-transitory) memory medium mayinclude program instructions that, when executed, cause implementationof the method. In some embodiments, an apparatus may include a memoryand at least one processor in communication with the memory and may beconfigured to implement the method.

In some embodiments, a method for a de-registration procedure for awireless device, such as UE 106, in a fifth generation (5G) New Radio(NR) network may include in response to initiating a de-registrationprocedure for a first access type, initiating a first counter, a firstthreshold associated with the first counter, and a timer associated withcompletion of the de-registration procedure; upon expiration of thetimer, determining whether a prior de-registration request messageassociated with the de-registration procedure was transmitted over afirst connection associated with the first access type or a secondconnection associated with a second access type; in response todetermining that the prior de-registration request message wastransmitted over the first connection, determining whether the secondconnection is active; in response to determining that the secondconnection is active, comparing the first counter to the firstthreshold; and in response to determining that the first counter is lessthan the first threshold incrementing the first counter; andtransmitting a de-registration request re-transmission over the secondconnection.

In some embodiments, the method may further include, in response todetermining that the first counter is greater than or equal to the firstthreshold resetting the first counter; and transmitting thede-registration request re-transmission over a connection use toinitiate the de-registration procedure.

In some embodiments, the method may further include, in response todetermining that the second connection is not active, transmitting thede-registration request re-transmission over the first connection.

In some embodiments, the method may further include in response todetermining that the prior de-registration request message wastransmitted over the second connection, determining whether the firstconnection is active; in response to determining that the firstconnection is active, comparing the first counter to the firstthreshold; and in response to determining that the first counter is lessthan the first threshold incrementing the first counter; andtransmitting the de-registration request re-transmission over the firstconnection.

In some embodiments, the method may further include, in response todetermining that the first counter is greater than or equal to the firstthreshold resetting the first counter; and transmitting thede-registration request re-transmission over the connection use toinitiate the de-registration procedure.

In some embodiments, the method may further include, in response todetermining that the first connection is not active, transmitting thede-registration request re-transmission over the second connection.

In some embodiments, the first access type may be one of cellularcommunications and non-cellular communications and the second accesstype may be one of cellular communications and non-cellularcommunications. In other embodiments, the first access type may beaccording to a cellular communication protocol, and the second accesstype may be according to a non-cellular communication protocol. In someembodiments, the first access type maybe according to a non-cellularcommunication protocol and the second access type may be according to acellular communication protocol. In some embodiments, the cellularcommunication protocol may be fifth generation (5G) new radio (NR). Insome embodiments, the non-cellular communications protocol may be Wi-Fi.

In some embodiments, a device including at least one antenna, at leastone radio coupled to the at least one antenna, and a processing elementcoupled to the at least one radio may be configured to implement themethod. In some embodiments, a (non-transitory) memory medium mayinclude program instructions that, when executed, cause implementationof the method. In some embodiments, an apparatus may include a memoryand at least one processor in communication with the memory and may beconfigured to implement the method.

In some embodiments, a method for a de-registration procedure for awireless device, such as UE 106, in a fifth generation (5G) New Radio(NR) network may include initiating a first procedure for the firstaccess type; initiating, during the first procedure, a second procedurefor a second access type; comparing the first access type to the secondaccess type; and in response to determining that the first access typeand the second access type differ, continuing both the first procedureand the second procedure.

In some embodiments, the method may further include, in response todetermining that the first access type and the second access type do notdiffer, continuing the first procedure and ignoring and/or aborting thesecond procedure.

In some embodiments, the first access type may be one of cellularcommunications and non-cellular communications and the second accesstype may be one of cellular communications and non-cellularcommunications. In other embodiments, the first access type may beaccording to a cellular communication protocol, and the second accesstype may be according to a non-cellular communication protocol. In someembodiments, the first access type maybe according to a non-cellularcommunication protocol and the second access type may be according to acellular communication protocol. In some embodiments, the cellularcommunication protocol may be fifth generation (5G) new radio (NR). Insome embodiments, the non-cellular communications protocol may be Wi-Fi.

In some embodiments, a device including at least one antenna, at leastone radio coupled to the at least one antenna, and a processing elementcoupled to the at least one radio may be configured to implement themethod. In some embodiments, a (non-transitory) memory medium mayinclude program instructions that, when executed, cause implementationof the method. In some embodiments, an apparatus may include a memoryand at least one processor in communication with the memory and may beconfigured to implement the method.

It is well understood that the use of personally identifiableinformation should follow privacy policies and practices that aregenerally recognized as meeting or exceeding industry or governmentalrequirements for maintaining the privacy of users. In particular,personally identifiable information data should be managed and handledso as to minimize risks of unintentional or unauthorized access or use,and the nature of authorized use should be clearly indicated to users.

Embodiments of the present disclosure may be realized in any of variousforms. For example, some embodiments may be realized as acomputer-implemented method, a computer-readable memory medium, or acomputer system. Other embodiments may be realized using one or morecustom-designed hardware devices such as ASICs. Still other embodimentsmay be realized using one or more programmable hardware elements such asFPGAs.

In some embodiments, a non-transitory computer-readable memory mediummay be configured so that it stores program instructions and/or data,where the program instructions, if executed by a computer system, causethe computer system to perform a method, e.g., any of the methodembodiments described herein, or, any combination of the methodembodiments described herein, or, any subset of any of the methodembodiments described herein, or, any combination of such subsets.

In some embodiments, a device (e.g., a UE 106) may be configured toinclude a processor (or a set of processors) and a memory medium, wherethe memory medium stores program instructions, where the processor isconfigured to read and execute the program instructions from the memorymedium, where the program instructions are executable to implement anyof the various method embodiments described herein (or, any combinationof the method embodiments described herein, or, any subset of any of themethod embodiments described herein, or, any combination of suchsubsets). The device may be realized in any of various forms.

Although the embodiments above have been described in considerabledetail, numerous variations and modifications will become apparent tothose skilled in the art once the above disclosure is fully appreciated.It is intended that the following claims be interpreted to embrace allsuch variations and modifications.

What is claimed is:
 1. A user equipment device (UE), comprising: at least one antenna; a first radio, wherein the first radio is configured to perform wireless communication according to a first access type; a second radio, wherein the second radio is configured to perform wireless communication according to a second access type; one or more processors coupled to the first and second radios, wherein the one or more processors and the first and second radios are configured to perform voice and/or data communications; wherein the one or more processors are configured to cause the UE to: connect to a network over a first connection associated with the first access type and a second connection associated with the second access type; maintain a first mobility management (MM) state machine corresponding to the first access type, a second MM state machine corresponding to the second access type, one or more counters associated with a number of non-access stratum (NAS) connections for each of the first connection and the second connection, and a first NAS connection identifier for the first connection and a second NAS connection identifier for the second connection; initiate, over the second connection, a de-registration procedure for at least the first access type; transition the first MM state machine from a current state to a de-registration initiated state; and continue use of the one or more counters associated with NAS connections associated with the second connection and the second NAS connection identifier.
 2. The UE of claim 1, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to cause the UE to: maintain a current state of the second MM state machine during the de-registration procedure.
 3. The UE of claim 1, wherein, to initiate the de-registration procedure for at least the first access type, the one or more processors are further configured to cause the UE to: initiate a de-registration procedure for the second access type over the second connection; and transition the second MM state machine from a current state to a de-registration initiated state.
 4. The UE of claim 1, wherein, to initiate the de-registration procedure for at least the first access type, the one or more processors are further configured to cause the UE to: transmit, over the second connection, a de-registration request message; and receive, over the second connection, a de-registration accept message, wherein the de-registration accept message comprises an information element indicating de-registration of at least one of the first access type, the second access type, and the first access type and the second access type.
 5. The UE of claim 4, wherein the information element comprises eight bits, wherein first and second bits of the eight bits indicate the access type.
 6. The UE of claim 5, wherein a value of the information element of 0000001 indicates the first access type; wherein a value of the information element of 0000010 indicates the second access type; and wherein a value of the information element of 00000011 indicates both the first access type and the second access type.
 7. The UE of claim 1, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to cause the UE to: initiate, prior to completion of the de-registration procedure, a second de-registration procedure over the second connection, wherein the second de-registration procedure is for the second access type; and receive, over the second connection, a de-registration accept message, wherein the de-registration accept message comprises an information element indicating de-registration of at least one of the first access type, the second access type, and the first access type and the second access type.
 8. The UE of claim 1, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to cause the UE to: in response to initiating the de-registration procedure for the first access type, initiating a first counter, a first threshold associated with the first counter, and a timer associated with completion of the de-registration procedure; upon expiration of the timer, determining whether a prior de-registration request message associated with the de-registration procedure was transmitted over the first connection or the second connection; and in response to determining that the prior de-registration request message was transmitted over the first connection, determine whether the second connection is active; wherein, when the second connection is active, the one or more processors are further configured to cause the UE to: compare the first counter to the first threshold, wherein, when the first counter is less than the first threshold, the one or more processors are further configured to cause the UE to increment the first counter and transmit a de-registration request re-transmission over the second connection, and wherein, when the first counter is greater than or equal to the first threshold, the one or more processors are further configured to cause the UE to reset the first counter and transmit the de-registration request re-transmission over a connection used to initiate the de-registration procedure; and wherein, when the second connection is not active, the one or more processors are further configured to cause the UE to transmit the de-registration request re-transmission over the first connection.
 9. The UE of claim 8, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to cause the UE to: in response to determining that the prior de-registration request message was transmitted over the second connection, determine whether the first connection is active; wherein, when the first connection is active, the one or more processors are further configured to cause the UE to: compare the first counter to the first threshold, wherein when the first counter is less than the first threshold the one or more processors are further configured to cause the UE to increment the first counter and transmit the de-registration request re-transmission over the first connection, and wherein when the first counter is greater than or equal to the first threshold, the one or more processors are further configured to cause the UE to reset the first counter and transmit the de-registration request re-transmission over the connection used to initiate the de-registration procedure; and wherein, when the first connection is not active, the one or more processors are further configured to cause the UE to transmit the de-registration request re-transmission over the second connection.
 10. The UE of claim 1, wherein the first access type is according to one of a cellular communication protocol or a non-cellular communication protocol, wherein the second access type is according to the other one of the cellular communication protocol and the non-cellular communication protocol, wherein the cellular communication protocol is fifth generation (5G) new radio (NR), and wherein the non-cellular communication protocol is Wi-Fi.
 11. An apparatus, comprising: a memory; and a processor in communication with the memory, wherein the processor is configured to: generate instructions to cause connection to a network over a first connection associated with a first access type and a second connection associated with a second access type, wherein the first access type operates according to a first protocol, and wherein the second access type operates according to a second protocol; maintain a first mobility management (MM) state machine corresponding to the first access type, a second MM state machine corresponding to the second access type, one or more counters associated with a number of non-access stratum (NAS) connections for each of the first connection and the second connection, and a first NAS connection identifier for the first connection and a second NAS connection identifier for the second connection; generate instructions to cause initiation of, over the second connection, a first de-registration procedure for the first access type; generate instructions to cause transition of the first MM state machine from a current state to a de-registration initiated state; generate instructions to cause continuation of use of the one or more counters associated with NAS connections associated with the second connection and the second NAS connection identifier; generate instructions to cause initiation of a second de-registration procedure over the second connection prior to completion of the first de-registration procedure, wherein the second de-registration procedure is for the second access type; and receive, over the second connection, a de-registration accept message, wherein the de-registration accept message comprises an information element indicating de-registration of at least one of the first access type, the second access type, and the first access type and the second access type.
 12. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein, to generate instructions to cause initiation of the first de-registration procedure for the first access type, the processor is further configured to: generate instructions to cause initiation of a first de-registration procedure for the second access type over the second connection; and generate instructions to cause transition of the second MM state machine from a current state to a de-registration initiated state.
 13. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the information element comprises eight bits, wherein first and second bits of the eight bits indicate the access type.
 14. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein a value of the information element of 0000001 indicates the first access type; wherein a value of the information element of 0000010 indicates the second access type; and wherein a value of the information element of 00000011 indicates both the first access type and the second access type.
 15. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the processor is further configured to generate instructions to: maintain a current state of the second MM state machine during the de-registration procedure.
 16. A non-transitory memory medium comprising program instructions that, when executed, cause a user equipment device (UE) to: connect to a network over a first connection associated with a first access type and a second connection associated with the second access type; maintain a first mobility management (MM) state machine corresponding to the first access type, a second MM state machine corresponding to the second access type, one or more counters associated with a number of non-access stratum (NAS) connections for each of the first connection and the second connection, and a first NAS connection identifier for the first connection and a second NAS connection identifier for the second connection; initiate, over the second connection, a de-registration procedure for at least the first access type; transition the first MM state machine from a current state to a de-registration initiated state; and continue use of the one or more counters associated with NAS connections associated with the second connection and the second NAS connection identifier.
 17. The non-transitory memory medium of claim 16, wherein, to initiate the de-registration procedure for at least the first access type, the program instructions are further executable to cause the UE to: transmit, over the second connection, a de-registration request message; and receive, over the second connection, a de-registration accept message, wherein the de-registration accept message comprises an information element indicating de-registration of at least one of the first access type, the second access type, and the first access type and the second access type.
 18. The non-transitory memory medium of claim 17, wherein the information element comprises eight bits, wherein first and second bits of the eight bits indicate the access type, wherein a value of the information element of 0000001 indicates the first access type, wherein a value of the information element of 0000010 indicates the second access type, and wherein a value of the information element of 00000011 indicates both the first access type and the second access type.
 19. The non-transitory memory medium of claim 18, wherein the first access type is according to one of a cellular communication protocol or a non-cellular communication protocol, wherein the second access type is according to the other one of the cellular communication protocol and the non-cellular communication protocol, and wherein the cellular communication protocol is fifth generation (5G) new radio (NR), and wherein the non-cellular communication protocol is Wi-Fi.
 20. The non-transitory memory medium of claim 16, wherein the program instructions are further executable to cause the UE to: initiate, prior to completion of the de-registration procedure, a second de-registration procedure over the second connection, wherein the second de-registration procedure is for the second access type; and receive, over the second connection, a de-registration accept message, wherein the de-registration accept message comprises an information element indicating de-registration of at least one of the first access type, the second access type, and the first access type and the second access type. 